Group learns what it's like to be homeless

Bryan Couch wanted temperatures cold. He wanted his group to experience what the homeless fight each winter night.
It was 56 degrees Friday afternoon when Couch and his group set up their campsite at the First Christian Church in Blue Springs.
“We were in short sleeves and sweatin’,” said Couch, the church’s deacon.
But the temperature dropped to 30 degrees by 9 p.m., when Couch and about 18 churchgoers braved the elements for a good cause, an annual coat and blanket drive.
“I wanted it to take a turn,” Couch said. “We don’t want it to be warm.”
A group from another church joined in the drive. Members of the Gateway Church in Blue Springs also spent the night outside, collecting coats and blankets for the poor. They were camped at a parking lot at 700 S.W. Missouri 7 and will be until noon Saturday.
About 15 from Gateway Church spent Friday night and Saturday morning in cardboard boxes, wrapped in layers of blankets, said coordinator Amber Rumpel.
The goal of both churches is to raise awareness of the homeless situation. And to collect cold weather gear for the needy. Both churches teamed up to put on the annual blanket and coat drive.
Couch’s group will stay outside until noon Sunday.
The 20 people from First Christian will sleep in an enclosed makeshift shelter made of tarps, cardboard and pallets. They have sleeping bags and blankets.
“These people are out in this stuff,” Couch said. “This is how they have to live. But we only have to do it for two nights, they do it all the time.”
The lesson Couch pulls from the annual experience is “how many really good people” there are in their community.
For example, last year a U.S. soldier donated blankets he had bought while deployed in Afghanistan. A woman sowed blankets for the drive.
First Christian has done the event for three years. The inaugural drive netted 1,200 blankets. Last year, they raised 5,000. And this year, with the added exposure the event has gained, a linen company donated a trailer full of blankets, sheets, and pillow cases.
“We really don’t have a goal this year, so we’re just collecting as much stuff as we possibly can,” Couch said.
The items will be donated to area organizations that provide support to needy people. Micah Ministries in Independence will get a bulk of the gear but so will Blue Springs-based group called Feed the People.
 “This makes you humble,” said Bob Todd, a  member of First Christian who participated in the drive. “You understand there’s people out there in a lot worse shape than you.”
Jacob Ashford started attending First Christian about 1 1/2 years. He was baptized in May.
Since then, he’s trying to as active in the church as possible.
“God blesses us with the ability to do this,” Ashford said, “and we should share that ability with others.”
Donnie Andrick, also a youth member of the church, said she’s wanted to “stay out in the cold” since the event was established.
People who want to donate to the annual blanket and coat drive can drop off items at two locations.
First Christian Church has set up camp at 701 N.W. 15th St. Items accepted are basically any cold weather gear like blankets, hats, gloves, scarves. Also, they will accept hygiene products like soap and toothpaste. Items will be collected until noon Sunday.
Gateway Church has established a drop-off site at 700 S.W. Missouri 7, (the Goodyear Tire store). They will accept coats, hats, gloves and scarves until noon Saturday.