#10dayswithout…Day Four

Day Four

Day four of my #10dayswithout Challenge to not wear a coat, wearing only flip-flops, wearing short-sleeves, and no heat in my car…I haven’t left the house today so, there isn’t anything to report on my experience…except that I think that I have some cold left in my fingers and toes from yesterday’s adventure driving a few morning hours in the care…I can’t imagine spending all day in it with protection…

Today I am going to educate you and me about some of the challenges homeless experience in winter…I am citing these facts from an article here …and a study that was completed here …

– Seven hundred people experiencing or at risk of homelessness are killed from hypothermia annually in the United States. Forty-four percent of the nation’s homeless are unsheltered.

– People suffering from hypothermia often have impaired judgment and cannot perceive their own need for shelter or medical care . Between 1999 and 2002, hypothermia-related deaths, totaling 4,607 in number, occurred in all 50 states in the United States

– Hypothermia does not occur only when the ambient temperature becomes very cold. Other aspects of the weather, such as wind and precipitation, lower the perceived temperature and cause the body to lose heat more quickly. Wet clothing causes a 20-fold increase in heat loss, and submersion in cold water causes heat to be lost 32 times faster. Hats are especially crucial: up to 50% of a person’s body heat can be lost through an uncovered head. Inadequate or wet clothing is also a risk factor for frostbite.

– Many shelters and services are offered only when the temperature falls below a certain cut-off point. At times, these cut-offs are motivated by finances. For example, the Nome Emergency Shelter Team (NEST) of Nome, Alaska opens its doors only when the temperature falls below -10o F or -20oF with wind chill. In Nome, however, the winters are so cold that the shelter is open approximately 75 nights each winter even with this cut-off. Although NEST would like to open more often, they do not have the resources and volunteer energy to sustain more frequent openings. In this and other such cases, especially in cases where no other shelter is available, the government needs to contribute funding to expand the availability of winter services. In other situations, however, temperature cut-offs are arbitrary and fail to protect the cities’ homeless populations from hypothermia. Still other services are offered only during specific months, although the weather may be cold during other times.

Believing that knowledge equals responsibility…I am challenged to consider and pray about what that looks like in my life…what did you find when cleaning out your coat closet? Anything you can donate to your local charity or coat drive? I found some scarfs, gloves, and one coat…it seems I am good at keeping the coat closet lean and mean…

Please check out the book

10 Days Without : Daring Adventures in Discomfort That Will Change Your World and You

“Daniel Day could tell you all about his love for God and his desire to live as a follower of Jesus. But it took a simple but radical experiment to move from simply talking about it to actually living like it. For ten days at a time, Daniel chose to abandon a certain “necessity”—a coat, a voice, shoes, media, furniture, legs, touch—and to blog about it to raise funds and awareness for organizations that are doing amazing things to make a difference in the world. And then he invited others to join him in the experiments and spread the vision. Together they served God and others—and experienced significant personal change in the process. Ten Days Without is the story of their life-altering adventure.

Ten Days Without is a compelling story and practical guide that will equip you and your friends to break through walls of convenience and indifference, and join a movement that is confronting apathy and ignorance around the world to make an impact on people’s lives in a God-honoring way. Ten Days Without is where our good intentions end and making a difference in the world begins.”

Carelessly,

April