Morristown Football Field To Become An Encampment For A Cause

MORRISTOWN, NJ — Morristown students and residents are going to be catching Z’s instead of TD’s at the Morristown High School Football Field this weekend.

On Friday night, more than 100 campers are taking their tents and sleeping bags to the Morristown High School Football Field to spend a night in the cold under the stars and overhead lights.

The purpose of the unorthodox sleepaway camp, “A Night in the Cold,” is to give people an understanding of what unhoused people are forced to deal with in the winter months.

The program is organized by Homeless Solutions, a Morristown-based nonprofit that prides itself on providing a “true Hand UP, not a HandOUT.”

“Through a continuum of shelter, housing, and supportive programs, they meet people where they are and empower them to rebuild stability, independence, and hope,” a statement read. “Their compassionate, community-driven approach creates real, lasting change for neighbors in need.”

Participants can expect to see more than 50 tents spread out across the football field, along with Hand Up Journey stations where participants walk through the steps it takes to move from crisis to stability, organizers said.

The event is taking place on Friday from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m.

“Tents will cover the field, temperatures will drop, and hundreds of people will choose one cold night outside to better understand what so many of their neighbors live with every day,” organizers said. “It is a field full of real emotion, community, and reflection.”