People in La Ronge are doing an overnight “sleep out” this weekend to raise money for the development of a local homeless shelter.
The 18-hour “Share the Love Sleep Out” begins at 2 p.m. on Saturday in front of the Scattered Site Outreach Program office.
Participants are sponsored based on each hour they are able to stay outside and brave the cold.
Lac La Ronge Indian Band Chief Tammy Cook-Searson says she has been in contact with Jackie Ballantyne at Scattered Site and right now the organization has some services for local homeless people, but it is not enough.
“There’s no beds there, but they have chairs where people can come and stay and have a warm place to sleep. And she says they’ve had people there every night and sometimes they’ve had to turn people away. So there is a high demand for a facility in our area — a homeless shelter.”
Cook-Searson says she has personally raised about $3,000 in donations so far.