BEEVILLE, Tx — Minister Richard Perry will be sleeping on cardboard for the next 3 days. It’s his way of doing more to help the homeless population.
"I will be living outside for 24 hours. 3 days and 3 nights from the 19th to the 21st,” Perry said.
Perry calls this annual event the cardboard challenge. Something he's been doing every year for the last 9 years.
"I’ve been in prison, I've been molested, I’ve been in gangs, I dropped out of high school. All of this and the drug addiction causes us to go to the streets and stay on the streets and one of the most important things is lack of trust,” Perry said.
Having experienced homelessness first-hand. Now, Minister Perry wants to bring attention to how big of a problem it is.
"I’ve been traveling this county in the last year in a half opening up comfort centers because of disasters in this country that's making a lot of people homeless,” Perry said.
An issue not lost on city leaders. The Police Department estimates there are 30 to 45 individuals who are homeless in Beeville.
The Texas Tribune said more than 25,000 Texans are homeless in the state.
"The ultimate goal is not to have any homeless in our community, that's a hard goal to achieve and to maintain,” Beeville City Manager, John Benson said. “For this week, if we can create awareness and educate the public and get donations that can be used to help the homeless. Those are small steps that can help achieve that goal.”
All the donations collected here will go towards Mission 911s walk to Siloam, a cause to help the homeless through the church.
