Family looks forward to fighting homelessness together

WASILLA — For Mandy Cross, Cardboard City is more than a well-meaning, family tradition and fundraiser — it’s a reminder of her own struggles with homelessness.

Cross, who now lives in Wasilla, said she and her family have been attending Family Promise’s annual event since 2011, creating overnight cardboard shelters to raise awareness and money for the nonprofit to combat and prevent homelessness. A few years before that, though, cardboard — and newspaper and duct tape — was a luxury for her.

Cross said she lived on the streets of Los Angeles for a couple of years in her early 20s, sleeping in homeless camps, abandoned hotels and even on the side of the freeway.

“In LA, there’s beautiful days, but the nights, sleeping on concrete, cardboard actually helped,” she said.

But the flimsy brown cushion was not what Cross needed. What she needed was a hand up, and eventually, that’s what she got.

Cross put herself through college, obtaining an associate’s degree in 2009 and a bachelor’s of human services in 2012. Driven by her passion for helping people, Cross looked for ways to start her own homelessness prevention program, but soon found it most expedient to contribute to existing organizations like Family Promise.

“They totally understood the things that were going on in the Valley,” regarding homelessness, Cross said.

After that first year at Cardboard City in 2011, Cross and her two sons were hooked.

“It’s great fun, it’s amazing,” said 16-year-old Eli, Cross’s eldest.

She said he’s famous for two things: his signature top hat and his love of “free” food.

“He’s always one of the first ones hovering over the donuts (at Cardboard City) in the morning,” Cross quipped.

Her 10-year-old son, Alex, she said, is more dedicated to the creativity contest, tricking out his boxes with whatever he can scrounge together.

“(Cardboard City) is one of the best things ever and I made a tradition out of it to sleep in a box every year,” Alex said.

That included last year, when the family was unable to attend, but Alex slept in a box in the living room and donated money anyway.

Two years ago, the Cross family was back on the receiving end of Family Promise’s care after their house burned down two weeks before Cardboard City 2014.

They came anyway, with her nine-month old baby. Cross and Naomi, now 2, were not able to stay the night on account of having to go to the hospital.

Now housed and happy, Cross said she’s looking forward to another night at the Alaska State Fairgrounds this weekend to fight homelessness.

“It’s gonna be fun,” she said.

The event begins tonight at 5 p.m. and ends the following morning at 8 a.m. Entry fee is $50 and includes cardboard, a dinner of soup and bread, breakfast and one white t-shirt with supplies for decorating. Participants should bring their own duct tape.

Dinner will be served and guest speakers and Family Promise program graduates will share from 6 to 7 p.m., when live music by the band No Wake will begin.

Individuals can register for Cardboard City 2016 at the green gate until 8 p.m. and “lights out” are at 11 p.m.

For more information, call Family Promise Mat-Su at 357-6160.

Contact reporter Caitlin Skvorc at 352-2266 or caitlin.skvorc@frontiersman.com