Eight area coffee shops and four local businesses are joining The Rescue Mission in a campaign to raise awareness of homelessness in the local community.

Participating coffee shops will serve beverages in sleeves bearing a QR code. Customers who photograph the code with their smartphone will be directed to a National Homelessness Awareness Month page on The Rescue Mission’s website.

The page also can be found by going online to fwrm.org/events/homelessness-awareness .

Among the statistics it shows are estimates that 500 individuals live in Fort Wayne encampments every day and 80 people sleep in cars each night.

Thomas McArthur, president and CEO of The Rescue Mission, said it takes only a few bad breaks for some people to end up homeless.

"Many of us are one paycheck away from losin

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