POCATELLO — As Michael Sampson supervised the building of cardboard condos for the sixth straight year in preparation for Saturday’s Homeless Awareness Encampment in Caldwell Park, experience was key.

    And it’s not just experience in setting up temporary shelters for the event.

    When Sampson arrived in Pocatello 36 years ago, he was homeless himself.

    “I was headed to Alaska, running away from a girl in Montana,” Sampson said, shaking his head.

    The cow did extensive damage to the VW Beetle that Sampson had converted into a Baja kit. Bent wheels and all, Sampson “limped into Pocatello.”

    “I was homeless when I got here,” he explained. “I was living in that Volkswagen with my dog.”

    The lack of shelter didn’t last long for the carpenter and he quickly landed a job, found a new girlfriend and ultimately settled down in Pocatello and raised three sons. But, that brief period of not having a place to call home has imbued him with a deep respect for how lucky he is. It also makes him reach out to help those who are less fortunate.

    “I’m giving myself the gift of gratitude,” Sampson said about his own secure lifestyle.

    Aid for Friends relies heavily on the annual camp out in the park to raise additional funding and awareness of the plight of homeless people in this country. Last year the Awareness Encampment raised $12,000.  Executive director for the Aid for Friends shelter in Pocatello, B.J. Stensland said the event that draws 50 to 70 participants is critical.

    “It comes at a time when we can really use the funds the most,” she said.

    In conjunction with the encampment, Aid for Friends is also holding a canned food drive and gathering winter clothing donations.

    Stensland said the event has three main purposes. They are raising funds, creating awareness with the public about the tribulations that come with homelessness and shaping the thinking of participants.

    “It’s amazing what it does to the people who spend the night,” Stensland said.

    Participants gather sponsors and donations for their night in the park and the funds raised are used to support the operations of the shelter. Among them was Pocatello Mayor Brian Blad. To make a donation to Aid for Friends, people can visit its website at aidforfriendspocatello.org for more information.

    Because the event includes cold weather survival tips, some participants come away with a renewed sense of confidence in themselves. But Stensland is quick to point out, “They all leave with a sense of how fortunate they are.”

    Aid For Friends board member Don Craig agrees.

    “It gives them the experience of staying in the cold weather and an opportunity to think about what they have,” Craig said.

    As Sampson continued to move donated cardboard boxes from Pacific Recycling into the makeshift city in the park, he said he realized how important the event is to many people.

    Scout Troops from Pocatello and Idaho Falls help prepare the soup kitchen dinner Saturday night and the pancake breakfast Sunday. Food donations came from Ridley’s in Pocatello.

    “I want to thank everyone who helped out,” Sampson said. “This community is great.”

    All the volunteer efforts and contributions will go toward providing a refuge for people in great need.

    “We all have stereotypes of homeless people,” Sampson said. “The real norm is a mother who got beat up and decided to leave and live with her kids in a car somewhere.”

    Once the cardboard shelters are in place, Sampson said people get down to the fun part of the event, socializing and sharing stories.

    “It’s fun because we can go home, take a hot shower and watch football games,” Sampson said. “Real homeless people don’t have a favorite easy chair.”

    Sampson knows some folks don’t even have a beat up VW to call home.