St. Francis House Dinner and Auction Supports Journey of Hope

The last official measurement of homelessness in South Dakota indicated there were over 1100 people without a home, 105 of which were families, 110 veterans, 61 unaccompanied young adults (18 to 24 years old) and 190 people who were considered chronically homeless. Additionally, over 1900 school children experienced homelessness during the 2016-2017 school year.

As has been mentioned before, the causes for this problem are numerous, with the top 5 reasons being:

• Lack of affordable housing
• Unemployment
• Poverty
• Mental Illness and lack of support services
• Substance abuse and again, lack of support services

St. Francis House in Sioux Falls, has made it their mission for 32 years to move people from "Homelessness to Hope" by offering "a hand up, not a handout", with mutual respect and without judgment.

One of the best places to see how astounding that transformation can be is at the 16th Annual St. Francis House Dinner and Auction, Monday, July 22, at the Sioux Falls Convention Center.

You will hear stories of inspiration and success, recovery and revival. You will also have the opportunity to support the work that is done there by bidding on wonderful auction packages (live and silent auctions), or even join in a mobile bidding activity during the event. And you'll see the progress being made on the new buildings.

Bidding begins at 5:30 PM and dinner at 6:30 PM. Tickets are free but you do need to reserve them online, by contacting Julie Becker at 605-334-3879 or by emailing her at director@stfrancishouse.com.

For more information see St. Francis House online, on Facebook, or call 605-334-3879.

Sources: St. Francis House, National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty and the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness