Toledo Community gives back to those in need

Toledo community members, University of Toledo students and organizations are invited to come show their compassion for those in need next weekend at an annual event called Tent City.
This year, it will take place in Downtown Toledo from Oct. 23-25.
The event started 26 years ago after the founder, Ken Leslie, went through some tough times of his own.
Leslie said that in the late eighties, he was a traveling comedian. Driving around the country made him realize how many homeless people were on the streets. He himself was unhoused at one time, which made the issue much more personal.
It wasn’t until he read a statistic that he tried to change things though.
“I read a statistic that said that 60 percent of the homeless in Toledo were families with children,” Leslie said. “Something just snapped and the next thing you know, we started the whole Tent City thing and here we are 26 years later, still there for people in need.”
Leslie continues to see the impact it has on not only the community, but those in need as well. He said it is not an “‘us’ and ‘them’” situation, but a “we” situation.
That “we” helps out the community and its homeless residents in a variety of ways throughout the weekend. One of those ways is by making lunches for those in need, a project headed by UT’s Bridge Club.
This will happen on Friday, the first day of the event, after which a bus will take them to where Tent City is located on Michigan and Jackson Streets, for what Leslie said is the “Parade of Compassion.”
Leslie said this is to showcase all of the different groups who have come to help out and to show the compassion that the community has.
The next day, students and community members will serve the lunches and The Bridge will run a kids’ tent from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Lauren Banks, president of The Bridge, wrote that she has really been encouraging UT students to come to Tent City.
This event has allowed for many to turn their lives around, most of which Leslie has seen firsthand.
“Last year, a 15-year-old girl came to Tent City homeless; her parents had abandoned her. Her auntie took her in; she was getting D’s and F’s and reading at a fourth grade level. And now she’s getting A’s and B’s and will be the mayor of Tent City this year at the age of 16.”
Banks also wrote that in the years she has taken part in Tent City, she has been able to experience the true compassion of Toledo.
“Tent City is a way to build relationships with others from Toledo whether they have a home or not,” Banks wrote. “It is a way to put ourselves on an equal level with everyone and show that we do not think we are better or worse than anyone else. It is a definitely a very humbling experience.”
Volunteers are welcome to spend the night in tents on Friday night, and then will get the chance to serve on Saturday alongside Project Connect, which Leslie said provides medical, dental and a variety of other services.
A full schedule of events can be found on 1Matters.org.
Leslie said Tent City is one of many events in which community members have the chance to show their compassion.
“Every human needs to matter to someone,” Leslie said. “I’ve found one of the secrets in life to be when you feel you matter to no one, go matter to someone.”