Wayne Teen Spends Night Outside to Bring Attention to Homelessness

Seth Alicea slept outside under the stars Saturday night. But the 16-year-old wasn’t camping out. He was homeless.

Alicea, who attends Calvary Temple International Assembly, voluntary slept in a homemade cardboard house in front of the church Saturday night. He wanted to bring attention to what thousands of people in cities like Paterson and Hackensack must go through on a daily basis.

“More than 2,000 people five minutes from here are homeless,” Alicea said. “We want to show them that we understand they’re in need and we’ll accept them with open arms.”

Alicea got the idea from his pastor, the Rev. Thomas Keinath, who slept under a bridge with homeless people in Paterson for a week. Now, volunteers take about 50 homeless and needy residents from Paterson and other North Jersey municipalities to Sunday services. Some have entered drug rehab programs.

“It’s incredible that he’s leading by example and touching other young people and adults in our community,” said the Rev. Dan Kuert. “People want to help but they not necessarily how they can. He's showing them how they can."

Alicea is also trying to earn a Congressional Gold Award, the highest award the federal legislative body awards to young American citizens.

Alicea checked into Hope Ministries Saturday night, just as any of the other dozens of attendees would. The ministry, which is run by volunteers at Calvary, provides food, clothing, blankets, and other necessities to hundreds of needy North Jersey families every week. Alicea picked clothes from the racks to wear overnight. He received a bag of food so he wouldn’t go hungry.

“Hopefully by doing this we’ll be able to show people what Hope Ministries does,” Alicea said. “I’m trying to show people that we really do care about people who don’t have a home. Hope Ministries, they’re trying to give them a future.”

One woman pulled over and tried to give Alicea money. He wouldn’t accept it. Another woman had a pizza delivered to Alicea.

Some of Alicea’s friends stopped by to see what exactly he was doing.

“He flipped the script a little bit on what society expects of teenagers," said Rev. Josh Escrobar, Alicea’s youth pastor. “Part of our teaching here is about making a difference and being a world changer and doing something bigger than yourself, being a disciple of Christ. That’s what Seth did. He was an example of others.”

— Have a question or news tip? Contact editor Daniel Hubbard at Daniel.Hubbard@patch.com or find us on Facebook and Twitter. For news straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.