Roughly 100 people took part in this year’s Cardboard City event in downtown Mobile, with about 75 spending the evening on-site near the Alabama School of Math and Science building cardboard shelters to draw attention to homelessness in the region.
The annual event benefits the Sybil H. Smith Family Village and Family Promise of Coastal Alabama, two local organizations that provide transitional housing, meals and support services to homeless women, children and families. Participants paid at least $100 in “rent” for the chance to sleep in their handmade cardboard homes overnight.
Organizers said the turnout reflected steady community interest in an event that has become a fixture on Mobile’s fall calendar. “We are hoping to bring awareness of the more than 6,000 children that are homeless in the Mobile County public school system,” said Mona Williams, a representative with Family Promise, describing the scale of the problem facing local families.
Volunteers from several area congregations helped organize and staff the event. One participant, taking part for the first time even though his church has supported Cardboard City for eight years running, said the experience gave him a firsthand look at issues he had only read about previously. He described serving meals at a local day shelter and coming away with a deeper understanding of how widespread the problem is in Mobile.
The Sybil H. Smith Family Village, run through the Dumas Wesley Community Center, offers transitional housing specifically for women and children facing homelessness, helping them work toward stability through case management and support services. Family Promise takes a different approach, coordinating a rotating network of local church congregations that provide temporary shelter, meals and other assistance to homeless families.
Organizers say events like Cardboard City remain an important source of both funding and visibility for programs that often operate with limited public awareness despite serving hundreds of local families each year. With federal housing assistance funding facing potential cuts and stricter grant requirements on the horizon, community fundraisers have taken on added significance for both nonprofits.
Those interested in supporting either organization’s work can find information about volunteering or donating through the Dumas Wesley Community Center or Family Promise of Coastal Alabama directly. A similar Cardboard City event is held each spring in Baldwin County, giving residents on both sides of Mobile Bay a chance to take part in the awareness campaign.