(Photo by Brett Dunlap) Brenda Myers and Lisa Doyle-Parsons of the Circles Campaign of the Mid-Ohio Valley put the finishing touches on their display during the ninth annual Parkersburg Sleep Out Fundraiser that was held Saturday night at Jackson Park in Vienna. The purpose of the event was to bring attention to teen homelessness. Their display represented many teens who couch surf, going from place to place sleeping on other people’s couches because they had to leave their own homes because they were kicked out or it wasn’t safe anymore.

VIENNA — Bringing attention to teen homelessness in the area was the focus of a fundraiser held in Vienna Saturday evening.

The ninth annual Parkersburg Sleep Out Fundraiser was held at the ballparks at Jackson Park where money was raised for the organization’s Transitional Living Program that helps youth ages 16 to 22 who are homeless and need assistance, Denise Hughes, director of the Children’s Home Society of West Virginia, said.

This event is part of a nationwide initiative over the next couple of weekends to help bring attention to teen homelessness and the challenges many face.

The theme for this year is “Oh, the Places You’ll Go,” based on the works of Dr. Seuss. About five teams from local businesses and organizations participated with around 50-70 people.

Teams each built a structure out of cardboard and tape that reflected that theme.

(Photo by Brett Dunlap) Nikki Lynch of United Bank works on the inside of a display a group of bank employees created Saturday evening during the ninth annual Parkersburg Sleep Out Fundraiser held at Jackson Park in Vienna. The event was a fundraiser for programs that help homeless teens in the area.

“The teams were very creative in the things they used,” Hughes said. “We are not here to emulate a homeless person or act like we are homeless, we are here to raise awareness.

“We are standing in solidarity with people who are homeless, talk about our program and what we can offer youth who are homeless.”

Hughes said there’s a lot of homeless youth in this area.

“It is an unknown thing because youth don’t tend to be sleeping under bridges or out in the park,” she said. “They tend to be couch surfing or going from home to home. Some have been kicked out of their home or they have no place to go.”

There are instances where their home is not safe, it can be dangerous for them due to drugs, crime or domestic violence, she said.

“We can help them out of those situations and find a safe place to live and get the resources they need to be independent,” Hughes said. “The mission of Children’s Home Society is to promote the wellbeing of children no matter what age they are.

“Even for these older children who need our assistance, we want to be there for them.”

In the past the event lasted overnight, but many people were not able to spend the entire night so they went until midnight.

The evening included an open mic and DJ Moon King and the Thrill the World Dancers performing its Michael Jackson “Thriller” tribute, a game tent and a Basket Raffle.

A team from United Bank made a bus cardboard structure decorated with the saying “The Sky’s the Limit” and a number of representations of Seuss’s “Cat in the Hat.”

Samalla Roberts, a sales and service senior at the main branch of United Bank, highlighted the bus pass program for a number of youths to help them get to school or to work.

“We feel it is important to get involved with the community and make sure we show everyone this is important to us,” she said. “We want to do whatever we can to help with that.”

Lisa Doyle-Parsons, director of the Circles Campaign of the Mid-Ohio Valley, a non-profit organization that partners with Children’s Home Society. She said it provides many of the life-skills education for homeless youth.

Its display was to represent a youth who is couch surfing, showing a figure laying on a couch with their belongings in a backpack and a can of canned pasta. A Narcan box is among the figure’s possession as drug abuse regularly happens among homeless youth.

“Usually (couch surfing) is the first place of entry for a youth into homelessness if they are asked to leave their home or thrown out,” Doyle-Parsons said, adding some are looking for a place to sleep.

They can end up in a very dangerous situation if they don’t know the person well or meet someone online, she said.

The Circles Campaign knows this is a major issue in Wood County, she said.

“The homeless youth is the hidden population among the homeless,” Doyle-Parsons said. “They try not to let it be known that they are homeless and are trying to hide it and mask it.”

Statistics estimate there are over 14,000 homeless youth in West Virginia, she said.

“We want to make sure people are aware of that problem,” Doyle-Parsons said.

Many homeless youths try to stay under the radar. It is hard to get an accurate number of youths who are homeless, Hughes said.

A statistical estimate has around 42 million youth who are homeless in the United States, she said.

Hughes hopes the people who participated in the event had fun and that their time and effort will benefit homeless youth in the community.

“I think people would be surprised by exactly how many homeless youths we have in Parkersburg,” she said, adding they get referrals from a number of agencies, schools, churches and community organizations.

“More times than not, we are able to help them,” Hughes said.

In addition to helping to find a place to live, they also get them help with learning life skills and provide different types of support, including adult mentors who can help guide them in handling situations that arise when people are living on their own in their own place.

“We want to help them figure out how to be independent,” Hughes said.

The Children’s Home Society has a Facebook page and a website at childhswv.org where people can make a donation.

“Any donation stays locally,” Hughes said.

All proceeds from the Sleep Out are used to assist youth with rental assistance and other necessary resources, she said.