Brian Romanowski did what everyone wants to do for their birthday on a Friday night: he slept in a cardboard box in sub-zero temps on Main Street in Mahomet.
Romanowski was raising money for CU at Home, a faith-based organization that helps homeless members of the Champaign County community realize that they have the ability to serve as a thriving member of society by meeting immediate needs, showing respect and building relationships.
The Pastor of the First Baptist Church in Mahomet has participated in CU at Home’s annual fundraiser, One Winter Night, eight or nine times, but 2021 brought a unique experience. Instead of gathering downtown with hundreds of one-night box dwellers in downtown Champaign, Romanowski chose to sleep by himself on the quiet streets of downtown Mahomet.
Each year, Romanowski witnesses the need in Mahomet: those with a roof over their heads, but unable to pay the bills; those who have no place to call home who need a place to sleep.
“The two years we did not have a shelter and Champaign was a real hardship because there was nowhere to send anybody and we’d have to get a motel room for them,” he said.
“But we can only do that for so long.”
With the success of fundraising efforts, both through One Winter Night and monthly donations and corporate sponsors, CU at Home now has a year-round shelter for men, and opened “C-U at Austin’s Place” Women’s Emergency Shelter in mid-January.
But, Romanowski said the work is not done.
“It just so happens that today (Feb. 5), I went to the post office, and I met a guy who was in Mahomet, actually homeless,” he said. “People don’t think of Mahomet as a place where there are homeless people. But as a pastor, I have over the years helped quite a number of people find a place to go.”
A Veteran of the U.S. Air Force, he also knows the plight of many Veterans after they serve.
“Forty percent of veterans statistically are homeless men on the street,” he said. “When you see a homeless man, four out of every 10, are going to be veterans. I feel strongly about finding these guys a place where they can go and be out of the elements and out of the rain and cold.”
Spending the night in a box next to the American Legion Post #1015 offered protection for the man whose wife provided him with a meal before he spent hours on the street trying to raise money. He also brought a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with him for the late hours.
Romanowski said that he felt he was better off than those who don’t even have a box to sleep in. The man he met at the post office spends his nights sleeping along the railroad tracks.
“The first time I slept in that cardboard box, I had no clue what it was going to be like,” he said. “The concrete is cold and it just sucks the heat right out of you.
“Three years ago I had a Veteran, who was a homeless Veteran, sleep in the same doorway as I did in Champaign. He slept on the concrete with nothing but a blanket over the top of him all night, and it was down into the low 20s. I just could not imagine what he felt like because I know how cold I was.
“It’s definitely an eye opening experience to actually know what it’s like to feel that kind of cold.”
Through the Champaign experience, Romanowski also learned that those living on the streets also endure late, late nights, oftentimes having to wait to sleep until after the bars close.
The quiet streets of Mahomet did offer much interruption for Romanowski’s night, but he also knows that his efforts are not about his experience, but rather to provide a better experience for others.
CU at Home met their One Winter Night fundraising goals, raising $488,572.80. Romanowski’s campaign contributed $2,079.67.
