5 Days For The Homeless!

Two years ago I saw a bunch of students sitting in cardboard boxes outside of the University campus. They looked cold and bored and I was curious, so I approached them and sat down and talked. They told me about what they were doing and I immediately became excited and inspired. Last year I applied, but didn’t get accepted. This year, from March 11 – 16, I will be taking part in Five Days For The Homeless.

What is the mission?

Five Days for the Homeless aims to increase awareness of the issue of homelessness and to raise donations for charitable organizations supporting homeless and at-risk youth across the country. It strives to create a society where all homeless individuals are given access to opportunities for success, free of barriers or public judgment.

What does it look like?

From Sunday to Friday, myself and 4 other U of L students, as well as students from 25 other universities from across Canada, will be living outside on campus. We must:

1. Remain on campus for five days. The campaign begins 5pm local time on the Sunday of the campaign week and ends at 5pm local time on the Friday.
2. Have no income. 100% of the funds donated to participants are passed on to each regions respective charity cause.
3. Have no food or drinks. Food can only be received through direct donations, and all non perishable food must be held and donated.
4. Have only a pillow and a sleeping bag. These items can be exchanged for an emergency meal.
5. Have no access to showers, or facilities to which their student status would usually grant them access. Washrooms can only be accessed when campus buildings are open.
6. Sleep outside. The only exception is if inclement weather becomes a health risk.
7. Attend all classes. Participants will complete all academic and extra curricular responsibilities, including student organizations and teaching positions.
8. Avoid personal communication media. Participants will be expected to not use cell phone or online social networking websites (Facebook, etc) during the Five Days campaign except for the purposes of promoting the campaign. Each region is required to have at least one cell phone for safety purposes.
9. Write about their experiences. I will be updating on this blog, and there will also be updates on the 5days.ca website.

What are we supporting?

The U of L division of 5 Days is supporting Woods Homes, a community owned and operated children’s mental health centre. On Monday, I got to tour Woods Homes to see what exactly they do. Here’s a very quick rundown of what they do:

The shelter provides youth under the age of 18 with a bed, food, laundry facilities, showers, clothing and crisis counselling. The staff work with the youth to find a safe place to stay and connect them with appropriate community resources best suited to their needs. They also work with finding the youth jobs, houses, and help them gain independent living skills. Shelter hours are 5 p.m. to 8:30 a.m. daily, 365 days a year, with a maximum stay of 15 consecutive days.

Their motto is: We never say no. We never give up. We never turn anyone away.

There is a lot more information of what they do on their website: http://www.woodshomes.ca/index.php?page=SOC_about-wood-s-home

Why am I doing it?

·      It’s more than just signs: The thing I like most about the concept of 5 Days is the active role it takes in campaigning. I am a strong advocator for building a better community, not just in Lethbridge, but provincially and globally as well. I want to stand behind events that promote the awareness of issues that are prevalent in our society and community. But, I am also aware of their limitations. Awareness is awesome and essential, but it’s easy for that to be the only step. 5 Days gets in your face. It’s easy to ignore a sign or a poster, it’s a little more difficult to ignore 5 people sleeping outside every day for a school week. It stands as a very unavoidable representation of the issue of homelessness in Lethbridge and in Canada.

·      It’s direct: If the explosion of the Invisible Children KONY 2012 campaign is any proof, people have a desire to help. This excites me. With the Internet at our fingertips, I strongly believe that my generation is going to be one of the most influential in making social justice a reality. That being said, there are so many different programs and outreaches going on that it’s hard to know which ones are safe—which ones are actually using its resources effectively. With 5 Days, 100% of the money raised is going to Woods Homes, and in turn, 100% of that is going straight to the youth. There’s no middle man, there’s no shady numbers; it’s completely transparent.

·      It’s a real cause: Homelessness is an issue. You don’t need Angelina Jolie or Bono telling you otherwise; it’s in your face the second you walk down the street downtown. 300,000 people in Canada live on the street. Of that 300,000, half are youth. It’s easy to shrug it off by saying that homeless people are homeless because of choices they made. Woods Homes is a youth shelter, meaning their average client is 15 years old. This isn’t a case of bad choices, it’s a case of terrible circumstances. Woods Homes is non-denomination, non-political, non-judgmental. It’s not about whether you’re Christian or Atheist, it’s not about being Conservative or NDP. It’s about taking in people in need, no matter what they believe or how difficult they are. 5 Days for the Homeless is the LARGEST donor to Woods Homes in Lethbridge, making what they do possible.

·      It’s an experience: Anyone who knows me knows that I love challenges. A quick glance to the side of this blog shows that there are a lot of different things that I want to experience before I die. Spending five days living outside is not just a fun challenge, it’s an opportunity for me to grow in my empathy, awareness, humility, and understanding. I get to take part in something that is happening across the country. More importantly, one of the thins that I am most looking forward to is meeting some of the people that I am doing this for. Along with a plethora of news channels, we will be visited throughout the week by clients of Woods Homes. We’ll get to talk with them, learn from them, and bond with them. A sweet quote from my favourite author, Shane Claiborne is:

“I had come to see that the great tragedy in the church is not that rich Christians do not care about the poor but that rich Christians do not know the poor. . . . I long for the Calcutta slums to meet the Chicago suburbs, for lepers to meet landowners and for each to see God’s image in the other. . . . I truly believe that when the poor meet the rich, riches will have no meaning. And when the rich meet the poor, we will poverty come to an end.”

Where You Come In

You knew it was coming. Last year, 5 Days raised $225, 524 across Canada. This year, our goal in Lethbridge is to raise $15,000. You can donate by clicking here and by clicking ‘DONATE’ in the top right corner. Make sure that you click “University of Lethbridge – Woods Homes”! We are competing against the other universities to make our mark. Part of my job over the five days is to ask for change from passing students. They will be donating their pocket change, and even a dollar from you online will help with what we're doing. Also, if you see me regularly, you can just give me a cheque for "5 Days for the Homeless".

And, for those of you who pray, please do that too. This is a safe campaign (we’ll be getting checked on hourly and we have safety equipment with us), but there’s still a lot to pray about:

-       General health and safety.

-       That we as a team will be able to bond (I met the other four participants on Monday!)

-       That we will be well-spoken and clear in our mission; that our words will touch those who need to hear it.

-       That our donation will be used as effectively as possible.

-       That our hearts will be changed and humbled from this experience.

Thanks for reading, and for your support!!