SWOX Mayor David Mayberry accepts Inn Out of the Cold challenge
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For those who spend their nights at Operation Sharing's Inn Out of the Cold, the shelter is usually a last resort.
But for South-West Oxford Mayor David Mayberry, his overnight stay in the basement of Old St. Paul's Church last Tuesday was a chance to experience what life is like for some of Oxford County's most vulnerable people.
"I think it is a show of moral support on David's part," said Inn Out of the Cold co-ordinator Eric Schmiedl, who has sent out a challenge to all local municipal, provincial and federal politicians to spend the night at the shelter.
"Talking about it is one thing, experiencing it is another."
Mayberry said that he had no preconceived notions about what it was going to be like at the shelter.
"People were friendly," he said. "The clients that were there, they had their own lives and their own challenges and I was just another person there."
Mayberry described the accommodations as "comfortable, clean and well-run."
The only surprise Mayberry encountered was the sheer number of dedicated volunteers who spend their nights sleeping at the shelter.
"There is a very small group, about a dozen core volunteers, which really blew my mind that the small group could function and keep this thing going seven days a week all winter long," he said. "I think that, as a community, we owe a debt of thanks. First to the church for making the facility available and the other to the volunteers and the businesses that support it and take care of those who are hurting or need help."
It was only very recently Mayberry said that he learned of Schmiedl's challenge.
"It was actually my wife that had pointed it out to me and said, 'Why didn't you go," he said. "That is when I contacted Eric."
Mayberry was the first politician to accept Inn Out of the Cold's challenge.