Dan Matthews, a 30-year-old DJ at Boise’s WOW 104.3 radio station, spent last week in a tent outside Walmart. He’s not homeless, but he was living like he was as part of the “Hope for the Holidays” campaign to support the Boise Rescue Mission.
To bring awareness to the need in Boise as temperatures drop and Christmas nears, he decided to spend 104 hours homeless. He still broadcasted during the afternoon rush hour each day, playing country hits, explaining why he was outdoors and encouraging people to get involved if they could. From Monday morning at 12:01 a.m. to Friday at 8 a.m., he really experienced homelessness — as best he could.
“You realize that whatever happens is a tiny fraction of what someone who is actually dealing with this experiences,” he says. “I knew that as soon as 104 hours was up I had a shower and comfy bed at home waiting for me.” Despite being surrounded by security and support staff who made sure he was fed, Matthews says, “At times it was miserable.” Temperatures dropped into the 20s at night when he slept alone in his tent.
He spoke to Tonic after he’d (almost) recovered from the ordeal. “I’m sore still. I need to go see a chiropractor I think,” he joked.
He’s still waiting on the final tally, but Matthews says that his 104-hour adventure was well worth it. In that time, his station raised more than $4,000 in cash and gift card donations and filled five moving vans with stuff for the women and children at the City Light Home at the Boise Rescue Mission — more than double what the community contributed last year.
“It was a never-ending display of generosity,” he says. “I thought, ‘People are getting it, let’s keep going.’”
One of the most affecting moments came when he met a woman who was really homeless and living in that same Walmart parking lot. “The second night I was there I met a woman who lived in her Suburban,” Matthews says. “She mouthed ‘thank you’ as she walked by.” When he caught up with her, the woman, named Christina, thanked him for showing everyone that homelessness can happen to “normal people.”
She explained her story: unfinished education, little work experience, stranded by a divorce. She’s a perfect example of what Matthews described as “the first time homeless this year who’ve never had to ask for help before.”
They met last Tuesday. By Wednesday, Matthews had connected Christina with the people at the Boise Rescue Mission and she spent the rest of the week at City Light. Matthews says it was then that he thought, “‘Holy cow, this is a big deal.’”
He added that when it comes to homelessness, “a lot of people kind of have a stigma.” So he made sure to emphasize that Boise has a large population of homeless kids, including the 2,800 children who signed up to receive Christmas presents through the Boise Rescue Mission. Who could say no to that?
Catch up on Matthews’ video blogs here and donate to the Boise Rescue Mission here.