FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Fighting Teen Homelessness: Jack and Jill South Suburban Chicago Chapter
Teen Sleep Out Saturday Series
Flossmoor, IL – May 8, 2023 – The South Suburban Chicago Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc. is proud to announce their Teens Helping Teens toiletry drive to help fight teen homelessness to be held on May 13, 2023, 4pm-8pm at Homewood-Flossmoor, High School North Building, West Fieldhouse Sidewalk, 999 Kedzie Ave, Flossmoor, IL 60422.
Black people in Illinois are 4.5 times more likely than White people to experience homelessness. From surfing couches to sleeping in shelters, more than 54,235 Illinois students experience homelessness. Many of them attend high school during the day, then battle housing insecurities at night. The teens of Jack and Jill of America, Inc., South Suburban Chicago Chapter (SSCC) are standing in solidarity with their peers who are facing housing insecurities. They are hosting a two-part series to build empathy and awareness, raise funds, and collect toiletries to fight teen homelessness in Illinois.
In November 2022, the teens of SSCC hosted the first of their two-part Sleep Out Saturday Series at the home of the Mid-Western Region Teen Foundation Chair, Carlos Dillard, Jr. With frigid temperatures and the heat turned off, they slept on the basement floor in sleeping bags, participated in a teen homelessness workshop, created a video on teen homelessness, ate soup, and solicited family and friends to support their Double Good popcorn fundraiser where they sold over $39,000 of popcorn. The monies raised provided supplies for teens without homes, college scholarships for Black students, and philanthropic support for Jack and Jill Foundation. The event culminated the next morning over breakfast as their parents listened to the empathetic and insightful reflections of the teens’ experiences.
The final installment of the series will occur on May 13, 2023, at Homewood-Flossmoor High School. From 4:30 pm- 8:30 pm SSCC Teens will host a community-wide drive to collect full-size toiletries (e.g., tissue, soap, textured hair products, toothpaste, mouthwash, sanitary napkins, deodorant, hairbrushes, combs, detergent, and gift cards). They aim to collect $10,000+ in donations from community members and non-profit organizations.
Given the shortage of teen shelters in the Southland area, SSCC Teens identified Aunt Martha’s, Reclaim13, and Respond Now as organizations that serve Southland teens in crisis. Thus, they will be onsite to accept toiletries that help to re-stabilize the lives of the teens they serve. The teens will also experience a private workshop facilitated by the State of Illinois Homelessness Chief, Christine Haley, Flossmoor Mayor Michelle Nelson, and Jack and Jill of America, Inc’s National Program Director Marvis Donalson.
For more information please email: [email protected]
