For 24 straight hours, Susan Blouch, executive director of Lebanon Rescue Mission, sat on a park bench in front of the mission to discuss homelessness with local leaders.
“There are 45 CEOs sitting on a bench across the country and dedicating 24 hours to have meaningful conversations about homelessness,” Blouch said, noting that the event – which ran from 3 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 8, to 3 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9 – was not a simulation of homelessness. “So it is not just (about) numbers. We’re trying to spend this time not talking about statistics but talking about real people with real stories and what they face with homelessness.”
Her “guest” list included leaders from local nonprofit organizations, government officials, program graduates, and mission leaders. The 30-minute time slots were livestreamed on Facebook, and a staff member noted Friday morning that there had been 1,400 views of the feed over the first 21 hours…