‘I could not be warm’: Local pastor sleeps outside to raise donations for those experiencing homelessness

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - The People’s Church of Colorado Springs Associate Pastor Michelle Reckel is sleeping outside until Christmas to raise awareness and donations for those experiencing homelessness in our community.

Saturday night was her first day camping outside.

“I could not be warm, let me tell you,” Reckel told 11 News. “It just lets me know what more stuff I do, to pass out, because the latest was a mother with two babies that came. They were sleeping in their vehicle, so all I could think about was those two children and that mom.”

Reckel said she wants to go through what those experiencing homelessness go through daily.

“A lot of them have mental illness, and they’re self-medicating with alcohol or drugs,” Reckel explained. “So many people may fathom them or say that’s their problem or they want to be homeless... Nobody really wants to be homeless.”

This isn’t the only initiative the People’s Church has when it comes to those experiencing homelessness. They work all year round to help the community.

“We go out at night... we try to provide wheelchairs... medical,” Reckel said. “We give them a warm meal and just emergency essentials they need to stay alive and to function every single day.”

The church is looking for donations of sleeping bags, tarps, socks, underwear, hats, gloves and more. You can reach out to the church for more inquiries on donations at (719) 210-3121 and info@thepeopleschurch.online.