St. Jerome Youth Group spent the night in a cardboard city, sleeping outside the church in boxes, to raise awareness of the plight of the homeless and the poor. Here, Katie Benhoff and Sarah Jackson of the youth group prepare to bunk down for the night.

Teens at St. Jerome Parish in Troy have been learning answers to those questions over the past year, and on a recent Saturday they were able to get a taste of what it's like to be homeless.

Fourteen members of the church's youth group along with sponsors Brenda Neumann and Patty Eckart spent a cold night Oct. 27 on a concrete pad in front of the church, sleeping in cardboard homes they made for themselves. The temperature plummeted to 45 degrees and the students got cold. They had only a simple soup-and-sandwich meal in a mock "soup kitchen" to last them until morning. "And when the food was gone, it was gone," Neumann said.

The youth were asked to dress in layers, but could bring only one blanket, a pillow and their cardboard box that night. They could pack a hairbrush and toothbrush because they attended 8:30 a.m. Mass the next day, but nothing else. "No cell phones or other electronic toys were allowed," said Neumann, the director of church's youth group. "We wanted them to truly spend the night as a homeless person. Even if it would have rained, we wouldn't have come in."

Homelessness is a growing problem in the St. Louis area. According to the Web site for Room at the Inn Shelter in St. Louis' South County, the shelter receives thousands of calls every year, but fewer than half of those in need are able to be placed in a shelter due to lack of space. Sponsored by the Sisters of Divine Providence, Room at the Inn offers a safe, clean shelter and meals and provides a program designed to help women and families solve the root causes of their homelessness.

St. Jerome's Youth Group went to the shelter this year to help by cleaning the shelter, making cookies and playing with the children there. "I think by actually meeting the people and putting a face to homelessness helped the youth understand poverty a little better," Neumann said.

The second year for the group's cardboard city, the youth prepared for the night throughout the year by volunteering for a food bus that travels to East St. Louis, stocking shelves for Ministries Unlimited in Troy and collecting money and food for the food pantry throughout the year. "Our kids do a lot of community service for the less fortunate," said Neumann.

The students collected food and money for Ministries Unlimited the previous weekend after each Mass and were able to raise $924.89 from parishioners' donations; they donated $624.89 to Ministries Unlimited and $300 to the parish outreach account, which helps purchase food for the mobile kitchen that serves residents of East St. Louis. They also made blankets to donate to a homeless shelter and said a blessing over the blankets for those who will be using them.

"My hope is that our youth will think about this evening before they judge others and have a little more empathy with what a person might be going through," Neumann said. "I know from just a few comments from our youth that they want to go to the shelters. They want to be more active; they want to see the faces of the people they are helping.

"One of our youth was so moved by making the blankets that she asked if we could make more and take them to those who are in need," she said. "We will keep the blankets from Saturday, and after we make more we will deliver them to the Rev. Larry Rice's homeless shelter in downtown St. Louis. We are very blessed to have such a caring and giving group of youth at St. Jerome, and I am very fortunate to be able to help them share their gifts with our own community and those surrounding us."