By Isabella Zarate
This Friday while everyone hunkers down and bares the cold Brian Romanowski will take to the streets of downtown Mahomet, bracing the harsh winter weather.
Romanowski, who is the Pastor of Mahomet’s First Baptist Church, will be spending the night outside to raise funds and awareness for C-U at Home, and the local homeless community.
C-U at home is a ministry group geared toward serving and helping the homeless. For more than 10 years they have been hosting an annual One Winter Night event. Each year people from the community gather in downtown Champaign to spend the night outside in a cardboard box.
In return, the so-called “box dwellers” raise money that C-U at Home will use to aid those in need.
While Romanowski has been participating in the event for the past eight or nine years, last year was the first time he spent the evening in Mahomet. He plans to do the same this year in hopes to draw attention to the fact that Mahomet has homeless people too.
“I don’t think that people in our community are aware that there are homeless people in Mahomet. . . I hope to bring more awareness to our community,” he said.
Romanowski went on, “I’ll be sleeping in front of the American Legion on Main Street Mahomet.”
In addition to having a “heart for people in need,” Romanowski has a passion for Veterans.
“A significant number of Veterans wind up homeless,” Romanowski shared. And “as a Veteran, I feel like this is an important issue.”
He went on to tell of one experience he had in previous years where he met a homeless Veteran who shared his story and proceeded to spend the rest of the wintry night next to Romanowski.
“He slept there on that sidewalk with nothing more than a light blanket over the top of him,” Romanowski explained.
“That just really changed my perspective,” Romanowski explained. “Seeing him like that and knowing that he did that every night.”
He went on, “when I do this, I just pray for people like him.”
Last year, Romanowski was able to raise $2,079.67 for the cause. This year, he is currently just shy of meeting his $2,000 goal.
In an effort to bring more awareness to the situation in Mahomet, Romanowski has invited fellow pastors and colleagues to join him for the night. Though, he has yet to receive any responses.
“Sleeping in a cardboard box in the middle of winter in Illinois doesn’t sound so nice,” he joked.
Nonetheless, on February 4, just as the night brings below zero temperatures, and the forecasted snow covers the ground, Romanowski will be stepping out of his warm, safe home ready to face the night.
“I’m apprehensive,” he said. With the expectation of extremely cold weather, “this will be challenging.”
“It will give me a taste of what this really looks like for people that are on the street.”
Though for Romanowski, the experience will be different. He will go to sleep knowing he has a comforting and warm house to return to in the morning.
“I’m only doing it one night, so I only deal with that cold hard sidewalk once whereas they do it on a regular basis.”
For those interested in helping, you can make a donation towards the cause here: https://secure.qgiv.com/event/own2022/donate/
