Gimme Shelter 2019 – A Night to END Homelessness

Gimme Shelter is an event hosted by the South Side Office of Concern (SSOC) to raise awareness of the challenges faced by those in our community without homes and to give our citizens an opportunity to help in the fight to end homelessness in Central Illinois. Gimme Shelter will be held at the Peoria Civic Center on the evening of February 8, 2019. Community members will raise funds for the “privilege” of spending the night, from 6:00 pm in the evening until 6:00 am the next morning, outside in a cardboard box. Participants will come from all walks of life. Elected officials, community and religious leaders, media personalities, business people, students, grandparents, moms and dads will all come together for one winter night on the streets of downtown Peoria. The event will also feature educational presentations focused around the topic of homelessness and the challenges it poses for our society. Gimme Shelter will bring our community together, raise awareness of the plight of those with nowhere to call home, and provide a powerful opportunity to learn more about homelessness. Participants will experience a bit of what it might be like to be outside, overnight, in the coldest part of a Central Illinois winter. Proceeds from Gimme Shelter will benefit the South Side Office of Concern and support homeless outreach services and permanent supportive housing to end homelessness in our community.