CHARLOTTE, N.C. — For the third year in a row, Block Love Charlotte hosted a sleep-out in Uptown along North Tryon Street as a show of solidarity with our neighbors experiencing homelessness.
Block Love Charlotte executive director Deborah Phillips said the all-night event works to encourage any and everyone to get involved.
“It’s a great opportunity for our neighbors to see just how much we believe in them, we support them, and we’re here for them no matter what. So what better way than to come out here and sleep with them," Phillips said.
But even more important were the efforts to collect donations too, including necessary items like tents, sleeping bags, blankets, thermals, underwear, socks, water, canned goods, etc.
Phillips says complete success requires community collaboration with other organizations too like Roof Above.
"Being able to do it in a collaborative effort is making a difference for our neighbors -- being able to meet people where they're at," she said.
Every day of the week besides on Wednesday, Block Love Charlotte works to provide a free meal to those experiencing homelessness with the help of partnerships and donations from local restaurants.
In addition to the physical needs, Block Love Charlotte also wants to provide resources and a foundation to help unhoused neighbors find stable footing off the streets.
“We also assist with housing navigation and we just help individuals get back on their feet so they can end the cycle of homelessness," Phillips said.
If you would like to help you can send monetary donations via Cashapp at $blockloveclt or email team@blockloveclt.org to schedule a pick up for items.
Contact Briana Harper at bharper@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Contact Austin Walker at awalker@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
WCNC Charlotte is part of seven major media companies and other local institutions producing I Can’t Afford to Live Here, a collaborative reporting project focused on solutions to the affordable housing crisis in Charlotte. It is a project of the Charlotte Journalism Collaborative, which is supported by the Local Media Project, an initiative launched by the Solutions Journalism Network with support from the Knight Foundation to strengthen and reinvigorate local media ecosystems. See all of our reporting at charlottejournalism.org.
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