To spend a night in a homeless shelter.
This Saturday, Congressional candidate Jessica Sandlin and two of her children will spend the night homeless in Norfolk in an effort to help highlight the plight of homeless families in our area. “Home. Less” is a part of Art Everywhere and will run through July in downtown Norfolk.
“I am bringing my older kids along because—well, because they want to come, for starters—but also because I believe it’s important to instill compassion, concern, and empathy in my children. And, quite frankly, I wouldn’t expect any of my children to do anything without me having first set a good example for them to follow,” Sandlin continued.
“The problem of homelessness is an increasing concern of mine. Traveling throughout the Second District over the past several months, I’ve been exposed to just about every corner of Hampton Roads. I have been struck by the numbers of people who are living on the streets, with no place to call home. And while there are several very dedicated shelters in the community, there are certainly not enough of them to cater to the present demand, especially for families- a fast-growing percentage of the homeless population,” Sandlin stated.
“I would like to see more done to help the homeless. I know- where is the money going to come from? I don’t have an easy answer for that. But, I do know that unless folks in positions of leadership and influence are willing to identify with Americans who are living in the margins, the public at-large is not going to know how extensive the problem truly has become. That’s why I think it’s fair of me to ask my opponents—all of them; rich, or not so rich—will you join me in my effort to raise awareness of this issue?” Sandlin concluded.
I had a chance to talk with Sandlin, one of six Republican candidates in the 2nd Congressional District, Wednesday evening. Look for my interview next week.
You can find more information on Art Everywhere here.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
I did that once in college; it was probably somewhat less meaningful back then because I simply refused to try sleeping, I did what any 19-year-old would do and pulled an all-nighter. Still, it was kind of enlightening how cold it gets outdoors at about 3:30 AM, even in May and even in Virginia. You start to appreciate what it’s like to deal with that day-in and day-out.
I haven’t heard a thing about Sandlin before this — but she’s making a good first impression on me. Considering I’m not a Republican, that may not necessarily bode well for her, but from where I’m sitting she seems like a pretty smart cookie with a fairly mature perspective on the issues, she correctly identifies that there are two competing principles at play here, each fundamentally-American: compassion towards those less fortunate than ourselves, and striving to be fiscally prudent. And then she honestly admits that there aren’t any easy answers about how to balance between those to principles.
Perhaps the issue is that the rest of the candidates in this race have set the bar so awfully low, but I feel like that’s more maturity and honesty than I’ve seen from an aspiring local politician in a while.
She is exactly as you describe: a smart cookie.
Yeah, when I was younger I went on a weekend fast to remind us all what starving people go through. We sat around a piano and sang songs, and someone came in to give us lectures on the needed nuclear freeze because Republicans were going to blow up the planet. Then after two days, we ate like monsters and went home. 85% of the attendees were female, so I learned a lot that weekend.
“85% of the attendees were female, so I learned a lot that weekend.”
I’m so tempted to link back to that picture of you in the ugly t-shirt and the baggy jeans shorts from that time when you showed up with a video camera to tape Mark Warner playing basketball with Glenn Nye so that you could put it on YouTube in case they decided to strangle a puppy at half-time. 😉