Essex County Dad Spends Cold Night In Cardboard Box (Here’s Why) – Patch.com

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Wayne Spence, better known as DJ Naturalist, stumbled across a post on Instagram last year about “Sleep Out America” and decided this year he’d make a change. A resident of Bloomfield and father of one, Wayne felt that he needed to do more than just donate so he decided to actively participate in the sleep out. He initially thought he was going out of his mind, thinking to sleep outside in the cold, but proceeded with his plan anyway. He has always been passionate about helping and being a part of other campaigns, this seemed like a likely calling and a small way to help. The thought of bringing awareness to homelessness and raising funds became a growing passion his first move was setting up a fundraising page where he asked friends and family to donate. He initially set a goal of $500, then decided to raise the bar to $1000. Why this project? “I wanted to enlighten people on how close we all are to being homeless”.

He campaigned on Facebook and Instagram and raised $1365 for Covenant House. On November 22, a day after his birthday, he got into a cardboard box that would be his home, his bed for the night. He spent 10 hours in 30 degree weather -notably one the coldest nights in November. While in the make shift bed, he thought about many things. How and when he’d fall asleep, can he make it through the night out in the elements- not knowing what to expect, but what really stayed in his thoughts was that this was the reality of so many on a daily basis. “I am not homeless and I’m thankful, but sometimes you have to put yourself in someone else’s shoe so you will have a better understanding.”

On November 22, 2019, across the country, people of all ages and backgrounds left the comfort of their homes and the warmth of their to sleep outside, just like thousands of kids facing homelessness have to every night to raise awareness. This year 4.2 million young people are without a safe, stable place to sleep, for various reasons. Wayne participated in “Sleep Out America” to raise awareness and make a difference.

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