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YSS SleepOut Teams Enjoy Mild Evening

By ALAN OLSON 3 min read

WHEELING - Beautiful weather was a nice surprise for the dozens of volunteers and competitors building temporary cardboard shelters for Youth Services System's annual SleepOut, held again at the J.B. Chambers Sports Complex.

By 6 p.m., two hours after registration opened, eight teams had staked out their spots to construct a temporary shelter in accordance with the "Once Upon a Time" theme; many cardboard shelters took the form of gingerbread houses and castles, while others resembled thatched-roof cottages.

Staci Stephen, director of development for YSS, was delighted with the turnout, both from those who came to participate in the fundraiser and also with the cooperative weather, where clear skies and still winds complimented the steady 70-degree weather even into the evening. Proceeds from the event go toward YSS' transitional living program, which assists young adults aged 17-21.

"We do this to bring attention to the youth who are unsheltered and don't have a place to live," she said. "We have a transitional living program that this benefits, and we do it during the month of November, which is National Runaway Prevention Month.

"We usually do it in November because it's cold, and you kind of get the idea of what these kids go through, living outside in cardboard boxes or unsheltered. We have a lot of teams out here who build structures, and everyone's having a good time. ... This year's theme is fairy tales, and a lot of our kids don't always get that fairy-tale ending or bedtime stories."

YSS spokesman Tucker Riggleman said the transitional living program is a unique program which assists youths who have aged out of YSS' care, or who are homeless or have run away, who need assistance getting situated in their adult lives.

"It's an awesome program that we see a lot of success with. They get their own apartment, we have a Wheeling and a New Martinsville location, and they learn all sorts of life skills, they get a job, they kind of learn how to take care of themselves. Especially for kids who have been in the system their whole lives, it's a new thing for them.

"The goal of that program is that we eventually place them in the community in their own apartment, and they're integrated back into society, and we get them off on the right foot. ... Every penny raised goes toward that program."

Riggleman said that fundraising for the program has been ongoing for several months, with groups holding personal fundraisers to help contribute. Last year's event raised more than $42,000 for the 11th annual event.

At the SleepOut, Elena Wiselka, who had been one of the youths YSS assisted in the past, said she was participating in order to help give back to the system which helped her out. Her team, Memory Lane, built a gingerbread house.

"I was in the independent living program as a child, and I'm coming back to support it," Wiselka said. "It's a lot warmer this year. We're veterans - we've done it for a couple years, and we're winging it.

"It's for a good cause, it's fun, and ... it's just a great experience. The kids in the living program, they really need it."

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