Light of Life Rescue Mission director spending 24 hours in the cold to raise awareness about homelessness
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A Pittsburgh man is braving the cold to draw attention to what people who are homeless in the city face each day.
Light of Life Rescue Mission Executive Director Jerrel Gilliam is spending 24 hours on a bench in front of their North Side building, live-streaming his conversations with community members.
It's called "conversations on a bench."
He says however, the point is not to represent what people who are homeless are experiencing, the opposite is true - and not just because he has with him a hot cup of tea, power outlet, and heat lamp.
"When you talk to people who are experiencing homelessness, what is the most painful part of being homeless is the isolation," Gilliam said. "It's being invisible in the middle of the community."
It's a sense of isolation he won't feel. He's being visited by community leaders, his staff, people who have experienced homelessness, and anyone else who wants to stop by.
"We're really hoping there will be a dialogue here," he said.
He's hoping to show them the uncertainty Pittsburgh's unhoused community faces each day.
"Tomorrow I know I'll be in a bed, tomorrow they don't know where they're going to be, and that brings stress and trauma that I don't have," Gilliam said.
As for the cold, which he says can kill, he says they have an outreach time working to get people off the streets - and says there are many resources available.
He wants people who are experiencing homelessness to know there is hope and there is a community that cares about them. He says it's important they remain part of the community.
