On October 27, 2022, the Bishop Dudley Hospitality House hosted the Eighth Annual Night of Hope event. During this event, thirteen community leaders slept out in the Bishop Dudley Parking Lot in a simulation of homelessness. The night began with the participants reading real stories from past and current guests at the Bishop Dudley Hospitality House. They also got to hear from some of our guests here at the shelter, including Brenda. Brenda had been living with her partner in their house for over twenty years. When he unexpectedly passed, she figured she would be able to stay in the home they had built together. But her name was never put on the deed, and her partner’s brother would not let her stay. While processing her grief, she found herself kicked out of the place she had called home for decades. She was homeless. She heard of the Bishop Dudley House from some of her relatives and took the brave step to come in. She now works in the kitchen and is looking for an apartment with another woman that she met at the shelter.
The program ended with a tour of our facility and a walking tour of the neighborhood. Around ten, the thirteen crawled into their sleeping bags and got to experience what downtown Sioux Falls is like during the night. It is cold. It is loud. It is busy. They now got to see part of what our guests would have to experience if we ever had to close our doors. We are so thankful for our participants, and more so to the brave guests that shared their stories with those who will most likely never really know what it is to be without a home.