Box City vigil at Capitol will protest homelessness

By Siiri Kokkinen
Staff Writer

For the last four years, a strange phenomenon has occurred at the State Capitol in May. For one night of the year, cardboard boxes litter the hill but not because of a lazy, clean-up maintenance staff.

Rather, it is a group of high school students involved with Box City Vigil who think beyond themselves by spending the night on the Capitol lawn. This year the students will mock up a night without a home on the chilly downtown streets May 8 to May 9 and bring awareness to youth homelessness.

Unfortunately, homelessness abounds no matter what the age group. But, Box City Vigil wants the people of Minnesota to think about the youth, in particular.

According to a 2006 statewide study of youth homelessness, “On any given night, an estimated 550 to 650 Minnesota youth age 17 and under experience homelessness. In addition, we estimate there are 700 to 1,650 young adults age 18 to 21 who are homeless on any given night,” reported Wilder Research last June 2008.

“A lot of us don’t know that we are in school with youth that are homeless,” said Flora Tsukayama, a community member of Bloomington United for Youth that helps support Box City. “The youth that are homeless aren’t going to advertise it because it is a shameful thing for them.”

During the course of the upcoming annual event there will be performances, music and speakers, some of which are homeless youth.

“When you hear your peers talk about their struggles, then it kind of hits home,” said Kasandra Brown of the Global Unity Project, also supporting Box City Vigil.

On Mar. 27, Jefferson High School in Bloomington will be hosting a Hunger Banquet to bring awareness of hunger in the world.

Box City Vigil registration forms will be at the banquet backed by the Diversity Committee, Amnesty International, Global Unity Project and Box City Vigil. Forms can also be found online and at Jefferson and Kennedy High Schools in Bloomington closer to the May event.