Day 5 - I Feel the Need to Apologize

So today's an exciting day for me. Instead of talking more about creativity, I want to finally reveal a project I've been working on for a while.

When I did 5 Days for the Homeless, I had planned on getting insane amounts of reading and writing done. Turns out, boxes are not conducive to comfortable reading times, mostly they're for curling up in a ball and attempting to sleep. BUT I did manage to scratch out a page or two of my thoughts. I've had a lot going on over the past couple of months and it was nice to spew out all my ideas in one sitting.

Once I finished 5 Days I immediately went home and turned those pages into some spoken word poetry. I have been really interested in spoken word for a long time now and have only just begun to realize how truly passionate I am about it. I will be posting some of my favourite poets in the future. (Side note: At one point I even became Facebook friends with Taylor Mali--a fairly well-known spoken word poet--but then I realized that he didn't have very many friends, so I just felt kind of creepy and de-friended him. It was awkward.)

Soon after I wrote the poem, my friend Amara told me that she had access to a recording studio at Lethbridge College. Sweet! It turns out that recording yourself speaking for 3 straight hours is an enlightening and unnerving experience. I have spent many hours during the editing of this project debating over whether or not I have a speech impediment. :/

THEN I went home and spent the next week working on a combination of sound editing, accompaniment editing, video recording, splicing, and more editing. I used a very, um, MacGyver-esque tripod (piano stool, bar stool, books, mirror, camera, and lamp)

and then spent a whole lot of time staring at this:

I used many different programs and even spent an entire day attempting to learn the whole of Adobe After Effects in one day, but it turns out it's just a ridiculously complicated program.

Then, fear hit. Confession time: I finished this project in totality back in March--and I was so excited and immediately wanted to put it up--but then I started thinking about how many hits it would get. Then I started thinking about what would happen if people don't like it. Then I started thinking about how it has to be absolutely perfect and I can't release it unless I am 100% satisfied with it. Well, turns out, I need to get over myself.

1. I am not 100% satisfied with it. Am I proud of it? Yes. Will I ever be completely satisfied with it? No. Over the course of working on it I have learnt that perfectionism is just a disguise for fear.

2. It's not about me. It's not about whether my voice sounds funny or the graphics aren't perfect. It's not about whether each rhyme is perfect. There's a lot of truth in this project and I want to share it with people because I wholeheartedly believe in everything that is said. As anyone who works in ministry can tell you, it's not about how many people you reach, it's about making an impact on the ones that you do.

So without further ado, I present: "I Feel the Need to Apologize": (If it's too small you can get a better size with the link below the video.)

I would really love if you could share this video with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, or wherever because, like I said, there's a lot of truth in it. Here is the youtube link to just copy and paste: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOUocB4Jvm4.

5 Days: Day 5 - 'Lesson Learned

Well, 5 Days is complete and I’m back at home now. I’m getting that feeling you get after a massive trip where returning home just doesn’t seem right, yet you naturally fall back into your old routine. I slept in. I had a dance party all morning. I ate old pizza and peanut butter & jam sandwiches for lunch and then forgot to eat supper. I procrastinated doing homework. Everything is back to normal.

And that’s ok. I learnt a lot doing 5Days. I don’t know if anything physical needs to change in my life, but I do hope that some of the perspectives I gained permanently stick. After a wonderfully long shower/cleaning routine on Friday night I sat down and wrote out some of my observations from the week. I’m sure I’ll have more in the weeks to come, but here are 20 so far:

1.     First, I have some people I need to thank specifically: Ashley, Brittney, and Kayla for supplying me daily with food and encouragement; Sarah, Lacey, Sara, and Erin for stopping by and allowing me to have an outlet for all my words; and Mel (I don’t know who you are but your words meant a lot), Aimee, and Kerry for their encouragement online. As I mentioned in my previous blog, words of support literally got me through the day.

2.     I didn’t really miss any of my electronics. After I got home I listened to the entire ‘Sigh No More’ album of Mumford and Sons because I had been deprived (see dance party noted above), but other than that I was fine. Oddly, the only time I missed my cellphone was when I couldn’t use it as a defense mechanism. Whenever conversations got awkward or I had nothing to contribute, I couldn’t whip out my cellphone to fake text people. Sad, but true. Future Michael should note that Cellphoneless Michael still survived said awkward situations.

3.     In fact, not having a cellphone was kind of fun. It was like my friends were on a treasure hunt and I was the treasure (This is a quote from my friend, not me.) It was a legitimately exciting surprise whenever I saw one of my friends because I never saw it coming. That being said, I’m not sure this would be as effective if I wasn’t stuck to a certain location every hour of every day, but hey, it was fun for the time.

4.     Men suck. When you have literally thousands of people walking by you each day, you begin to spot the ones who are more likely to give you money. Hint: It wasn’t men. I would say that 8/10 people who were complete jerks to me were guys. Perhaps it’s because I’m a guy—I’ll have to consult with the girl beggars to see if they had better luck—but all I know is that by the last day I basically gave up on asking most guys. Guys, let’s remedy this.

5.     All week we had more than enough food. So much so that Woods Homes came by daily to collect it. People love giving things that have a bit more thought put into it. And, as I mentioned before, free food with no chance of repayment is the best tasting food out there. As a team, our communal eating got to the point that we would share half eaten cookies and sandwiches. You eat till you’re full then you give the rest to someone else. That is definitely something I am going to miss. (Kinda makes me want to reconsider Acts 4:32-35.)

6.     Planning 5 Days for the Homeless during Roll Up the Rim is brilliant. It’s easy to give up something that wasn’t yours to begin with. (Insert Biblical lesson here about how all of what we have isn’t ours to begin with.) At the beginning, I said that if I won the car I would donate it to the cause. Everyone looked at me with genuinely shocked expressions. I took it back. I’ll keep the car, cause I do need a car, but I would pawn the 3D TV and give it all to 5Days. Who the heck needs a 3D TV anyway? Spoiler: I didn’t win.

7.     People are antagonistic purely for the sake of being antagonistic. With 5 Days we had our bases covered.

a.     Homeless people are homeless because of drugs and alcohol. It’s for homeless youth, who are more victims than offenders.

b.     How much of the money is actually going to the kids? 100%.

c.      Isn’t this just a short term solution? Woods Homes works with getting the kids jobs, homes, and life skills.

d.     Aren’t you not addressing the problem? Woods Homes also does family counseling programs to attempt to prevent kids from needing their shelter.

I got all of these questions, which is fair, but when people ran out of

legitimate ones, they just started making them up:

e.     Excuse me sir, do you have any change? No, do you?? Umm, yes, but it’s going to the homeless.

f.      Excuse me sir, do you have any change? Did you even donate?? No, I don’t really care about this cause; I’m just living in the box for kicks.

g.     Excuse me ma’am, do you have any change? You’re not suffering enough. The group last year was suffering more so I’m not going to give to you this year.

h.     Excuse me ma’am, do you have any change? No, because I don’t like how you’re trying to shove your right-wing Christian agenda on the kids.

i.       Excuse me sir, do you have any change?  *Throws penny at my head* Get a job!

j.       Excuse me sir, do you have any change? KONY 2012 is a scam. SERIOUSLY?!?

8.     Little children are awesome. The one day having a kid come up and drop a coin in my can pretty much made my entire day. In the same light, it hurt so much when a kid tried to walk up to me and her mother grabbed her away and held her close as she walked away. This happened to me two times in a row and both times the mothers went well out of their way to avoid me and any eye contact. The innocence and curiosity of a child is such a blessing, and rejection stings that much more when someone wants to give, but someone else is holding them back. 

9.     Words and smiles are huge. For a while I changed my sign to, “All I want is a smile and eye contact!” I want to go back and thank every single person that took two seconds to genuinely interact with me. If I see them in the hallways over the next couple of weeks, I will.

 

10. Ostracized bonds are strong. I connected closer with my team in 5 days than I have with most people in months, purely because a) well, let’s be serious, we were in living in a tiny box together but also b) we could relate to each other’s feelings of rejection.

11. One thing that I will definitely miss is the freedom I had to talk to strangers. A couple of times I just stopped to talk to people, without the intention of asking them for money. Not only was being homeless a great conversation starter, but (most) people weren’t weirded out by me approaching them because they knew I was part of a program. I got to enter rooms and buildings that I never would have normally entered—including the elusive Women’s Center, which I have avoided like the plague my whole University career. I was free to wander and nobody asked questions, and I will miss that.

12. The story of the penny from the widow comes to mind. When I asked profs for money, I couldn’t help but feel slightly turned off by their cheesy smiles as they oh-so-generously handed me 50 cents. Then in the same light, I had students come up and hand me $40 and run off before I could even say thanks. That being said, we did have one prof who donated $500 himself, so I certainly can’t lump them all together.

13. I actually got to know the caretakers, janitors, and bus drivers around school because I saw them on a bi-daily basis. I regret not talking to them sooner.

14. My most missed commodity was not my laptop, not my cellphone, not even my shower, but my electric blanket. Even if I end up giving away everything that I own, I will cling to that thing and never let go.

15. People said to be creative with my signs, so I printed off a bunch of memes and taped them together. If you don't know what memes are you can just go ahead and skip all of the following pictures:

16. I lied. I did miss my iPod, purely for the reason of getting songs out of my head. Our dear coordinator Alisha had an affinity for busting out songs like “Get Low” on a bi-hourly basis. It’s really hard to be polite and humble when this song is running through your head.

17. Windburn is a serious thing. Who knew? I used to think that my eyes always hurt because I was looking at a computer screen for too long. Then, when I went without a computer for some time, they still hurt. Turns out, it’s just windburn from living in Lethbridge. I need to invest in some good goggles. (But actually. If you’re a boarder and have old goggles, let me know.)

18. I’m ashamed that it took me until Thursday to pray about reaching our total. I had been willing to commit myself physically, mentally, psychologically, and emotionally to this cause, but I was scared to commit to it spiritually. Thankfully, a friend put this in perspective for me.

19. We have not yet reached our goal. I say ‘yet’ because technically, the site is still open for donations until the end of this week, because there is still a lot of coordinating that needs to be done. Regardless, this has been a hard thing for me to come to terms with. That being said, I cannot forget that what we did raise was incredible. Five people raised over $10,000 in five days, mostly from the pocket change of university students. Some of the other schools doing it had multiple sponsors and campuses with more than double our population, and we raised more than them. People would often say, “I only have pennies” and I’d tell them I wanted their pennies; we averaged $17 in pennies a day. That doesn’t sound like much, but it stands as a testament of how a normal person can lose four pennies without blinking an eye, yet when you add them together it amounts to something awesome. I’m proud of what we accomplished. 

(This would be an opportune time to note that you—or a friend, or a rich uncle, or your business—can still donate at 5days.ca until Friday! We had a couple of businesses tell us they would throw together a ‘casual day’ fund and donate the proceeds to us. I appreciate the creativity and know that every bit helps.)

20. My final point is to come. I did a lot of creative writing while being homeless and *fingers crossed* hopefully I’ll have the final product soon. Keep me accountable on this.

So there’s a quick rundown of what I learnt. Like I said, this list probably won’t be complete for quite some time, but it’s a start. Also, if you’ll notice I have proudly crossed ‘Participate in 5 Days’ off my life list on the side. Ch-check!

5 Days: Day 4 - 'We Don't Need No Education'

**So, you've probably figured out by the timing of this post that I'm actually done 5 Days! I didn't post yesterday because I was so busy, and I still have a lot to digest tonight, so I'll post my final thoughts tomorrow. Here is the post from yesterday.**

Today was a school day. On Thursdays I have class from 11am until 3pm and then 6pm until 9pm. It's a long day normally, and when you've been averaging about 3 hours of concrete-padded sleep a night, it becomes a since-when-did-clocks-move-backwards day. I fell asleep in two out of my four classes (I'd like to say that this is a first :P Oops). I apologize to my teachers, but that desk was just far, far too attractive at this point.

Side note: We had a table set up in the atrium where I had my signs and donation tin at the ready. After 20 minutes I had passed out on the table. I was woken by multiple people putting money into the jar still clasped in my unconscious hands. Apparently this "look pathetic" thing is really working for me. I digress.

Being in classes was also really difficult for me today because I felt so disconnected. I knew the whole time my team was outside begging for cash and I was inside learning about things I would not remember in a week. When I did beg between classes, it was a lot harder for some reason. I discovered that this was because I had my "student-mentality." As a student, my mindset is very much 'What can I get out of this?' which isn't necessarily a bad thing as it helps you reject useless information and restore good information. Unfortunately, when you take that mindset and go beg with it, you once again make the rejection about you. In begging mode, I expect nothing and when I receive something it is a blessing. In student mode, I expect to be treated as an equal and when I face countless turned away faces, it hurts. I'd say there's a fairly good life lesson on perspective and humility there.

My team and I are getting more and more tired, and it's reflected in our motivation and patience. We've gone from taking two hour long turns standing in certain spots to twenty minute rotations. At one point today I tried to smile and my muscles were actually incapable of it. Who knew you could overuse your smiling muscle? Being polite, being considerate, being charismatic--being on--all day, every day is just as, if not more, exhausting to me than sleeping in a box. I love people and I love talking--if you know me you know this--but there's something about having to 'sell' yourself all day long that makes me want to curl into a ball and ignore the world for a day. Thank God I turned down that job for Future Shop.

I am learning a lot about sales though. Eric, one of my teammates, is a salesman for a living and is ridiculously good at it. How a man manages to get donations plus nine girls' phone numbers after not showering for a week is completely beyond me. I would attempt this feat myself, except that this morning I was contemplating not buying hair gel any more because I could save money by just not showering. Sooo, ladies, you're off the hook this time.

Sigh, I kind of miss my shame. I miss my rule about never wearing sweatpants in public. I miss a good solid belt. I miss talking with people without them thinking I had an ulterior motive. I miss talking to people without an ulterior motive. I miss "Good" being the response to "How are you?" instead of "I don't have any money." I miss being able to lay flat when I sleep. I miss being nervous to talk to profs because they intimidated me, not because I'm going to ask them for money and they may hate me forever because of it. I miss having a filter.

That being said, I have an inkling that there are about a billion things I'm going to miss about 5 Days once I get home.

I have a paper due at midnight tonight that I've been putting off writing, but I guess I have to get around to it eventually. When I have less and less sleep my writing often tends to become more creative and flamboyant. In my first research essay for university, and therefore my first all-nighter, I stated that the character's rejection was "like a flower being trampled under a boot" (or something like that). My teacher wrote "a little much?" on the side of my paper. Noted. Similes and research papers don't mix. Got it.

Now I'm just rambling. Wish me luck.

Day 5, you've never looked so beautiful.

5 Days: Day 3 - 'Beautiful Day'

I'm going to try and write this fast because after 10pm it becomes story time in the hut and I don't want to miss out. My teammates are ridiculous and it's impossible not to feel super close with them.

But  also guys, guess what! Day 3 was about 1000x better than Day 2!

Day 3 was still full of the usual dismals and rejections, but for some reason it was a lot more manageable. We’ve started to get into a groove now, and people have come to expect us.  Something about the sun shining and the wind being manageable just put people in a better mood, I guess. We raised more money today than yesterday and the day before combined, which is pretty incredible. We still have a long way to go to get to our goal, but we have a lot more awareness and people are coming even from off campus to donate.

My sense of shame is continuing to diminish which is both terrifying and exciting. I’ve taken on the university as my home and currently have my stuff splayed all over it. When you don’t really have a whole lot, you don’t really care if it goes missing. That sounds apathetic, but really there’s a sweet freedom to it.

As part of the routine, I was beginning to feel that I had become a pro interviewee, seeing as how many we’ve had to do. Unfortunately, a radio station called me this morning right after I had just woken up and asked for an interview (they called our emergency phone, for those of you crying foul.) I honestly laughed out loud the second I hung up because I have no idea if I made ANY sense at all. I distinctly remember a sentence of, “Well you see because the homeless of youth with Woods Homes and showers, beds and I have a real passion for it.” Yup. Apparently when you say the same things over and over every day the sentence structure kind of gets thrown out the window. Meh.

As with every other day, people have been more than generous with food. The Rotaract and Amnesty International club woke us up to fruit salad and clam chowder all beautifully laid out on a table. We continue to have friends bring us snacks and tea all day, along with words of encouragement and comfort. I have a lot of  time on my hands, so I am a lot more open to just sitting and talking with people and getting to know them better. All of those students that I vaguely knew from class I actually have the opportunity to get to know and hear their stories. It’s definitely one of the advantages of this program that I did not consider going in to it. People come with hugs and smiles, and I even had a two-year old boy come up and give me a dollar. I'm going to ignore the fact that his mom gave it to him and pretend that the children of tomorrow are keen and taking the initiative on social justice. God bless 'em.

My biggest frustration today was school. It’s amazing how apathetic I am towards postmodern avant-garde music when my armpits reek and I can feel my socks fermenting. I have a couple of assignments due tomorrow that were hanging over my head all day and even now I’m procrastinating. As a future teacher want-to-be, I still definitely see the importance and power in education, but it does serve as a reminder to teach perspectives and passions over futile facts. There’s something to be said for the simplicity and inspiration of Dr. Seuss:

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, it’s not going to get better. It’s not.”

Here’s hoping Day 4 brings a lot of happy, awesome people!

PS: Thanks to those of you who are posting these blogs on Facebook or whatever. I've had a couple people come up and mention them to me, so I really, really appreciate it!

5 Days: Day 2 - 'All You Need is Love'

I’m pretty sure I’ve been at this for about 3 years now. At least, if you were to add up the emotions that I experienced today, it’s about the equivalent of 3 years. In 2007, I cried approximately three times. True story. Today, I just about lost it approximately 9 times. Being homeless is not for the faint of heart.

I don’t even know where to begin. Last night someone stole my toque, which normally I’m ok with because I assume that the person who stole it needed it more than I did (it happens frequently). Yesterday was one of the rare circumstances where this probably wasn’t the case. Thankfully, a kind student came by and actually lent me his for the night, despite knowing how greasy my hair currently is. I repeat, people are awesome.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the theme of today. People have begun to latch on to the “I donated yesterday” line, which I understand, but also don’t. See this is my problem. In my attempts to be as understanding as possible, I try to see each person’s perspective. I am also a poor university student and am very careful with my money. If I had already given my money I would get frustrated by being asked time and time again. So I get that. But also, we’re talking dollars here. Not thousands, not hundreds, just dollars. Dollars that I would spend on a coffee with no second thought. So every single time someone doesn’t donate I go through this whole mental process of justifying and then un-justifying their response. This, combined with the mental processes of very little sleep, results in complete mental exhaustion.

The feeling of rejection is also an unrelenting constant. I know this is not about me, I know this is not about me, I know this is not about me. And yet, for some reason, walking down the hall watching every single person avert their eyes is hard not to take personally. I have calculated the exact distance of where people will begin to take out their phones when they see me coming. I have watched people unabashedly run away from me. Phones, headphones, insanely interesting news articles, other people, imaginary phones—all have been used to avoid eye contact. One girl actually just yelled banana when I went up to her. This is one creative school.

In the morning a guy stopped by and told us that he actually used to go to Woods Homes. At the time he needed the shelter, but they helped him find a job and now he actually has a home and a job. I repeated this story over and over in my head; it was huge to have a tangible reminder of why we’re doing this.

The other thing I’ve observed is that food that is given to you tastes about 134% better than food you’ve bought. People know that I have nothing but words of appreciation to give them back, yet they’ve been so generous. I actually started crying when I saw two of my friends approach with fresh lasagna. Their hugs and words of encouragement genuinely got me through this day. I am extremely thankful that I am not homeless and pray that I never will be, but I also pray that I never lose the appreciation I currently have for a friendly face. At one point I stopped asking for money and just started asking people for a smile or even eye contact. I know this all sounds over the top, but the emotional and physical roller coaster that this is putting me through is ridiculous. People need to be loved, and shame on me for ever holding back a smile in the past.

Currently there is literally a snow storm going on outside. The roof of our dear hut tried its hand at freedom, but we caught it before it went too far down the hill. After a quick sew job (thank the good Lord that we have a survivalist on our team) it’s back on now, but tonight is going to be a bit of a gamble. Fingers crossed that I don’t wake up buried in snow.

Bring it on, Day 3 (he said with less aggression and a little bit more humility).

(Also, I don’t know who you are, but to the person who read my last blog and donated aloe vera for the wind burn, may your offspring be bountiful and your sheep never stop providing wool. And may the odds be ever in your favour. You are awesome.)

5 Days: Day 1 - 'What It Is to Burn'

Wow. It’s been 28 hours and I feel like I’ve been at this for approximately 5 months. The fact that it took me 2 minutes to add 24 plus 4 is proof of where my mental capacity is at right now.

 Last night we spent 3 hours constructing our beautiful cardboard dwelling into what is now affectionately known as “the hut”. I’m actually quite proud of it; it survived the beating of a full night of wind (note: this is Lethbridge wind, not normal wind.) In fact, I was so proud of it that as I settled down to sleep I almost felt bad. It was too nice! I sat there hoping that the conditions would get a little worse or else this would be a pretty false experience.

Stupid me.

I woke up after an hour of sleep to the sound of buses running ten feet away and my back in a permanently crooked position. Apparently concrete floors and seven people crammed into a tiny space do not actually make for a “nice” experience. But, like I said, our shelter did make it through the night, so that was a relief. (When I heard the buses in the morning I genuinely thought we were being steamrolled. I said my final words and made peace with the fact that I was going out doing something I cared about.)

After some delicious donated coffee, we were out begging by 8am. For the most part, people’s reactions were good. Most apologized because they didn’t have any change on them. I felt bad for the most part; I don’t want this to be about guilt so much as a desire to be informed and help out. Some were super kind and even if they didn’t have change would just stop to talk. Others were jerks:

“Do you have any spare change?”

“Yup!”

“Sweet! Thanks.”

“But I’d never give it to you.”

“Oh.”

OR

“Do you have any spare change?”

“I do, but if I gave it to you I’d be in the same position you’re in.”

Really?? One dollar of pocket change is going to put you on the street, Mr. IPhone with accompanying Bench jacket? I know that I said this wasn’t about guilt, and I really try hard not to judge people, but I judged that guy. I judged the crap out of that guy. Him and the lady who had a phone conversation that was so obviously faked that she turned around after she had passed and we acknowledged with our eyes how incredibly terrible her attempt had been. Ten points for trying.

That being said, I had some really good experiences as well. I wasn’t ever worried about having food because there were more than enough donations. I like that our meals have become entirely communal; everything just goes in a big pile and we take from it as we feel we need it. Between that and sleeping within 2 cm of each other, I already feel really close with my fellow participants. I know I could not do this on my own. Knowing that there is someone else that can relate to a day full of wordless head shakes and avoided eye contact is instrumental to my self worth. It’s hard not to take it personally, so a reminder every ten minutes of why I am doing this is also key. I also had 8 different radio/tv stations ask me that question today, so that helped as well. (PS, if you have access to a tv, can someone tape those for me? One of the reporters asked me to look as pathetic as possible. I didn’t change my expression and she said, “Great!” and took the picture. Sooo… I’m curious to see just how pitiful I appear.)

 Highlights of the day were friends who came and brought me food and company. AND people who came up and gave to us without us even asking. AND people who stopped to ask questions and genuinely got excited for us. AND getting to wear a sandwich sign (with the added bonus of not blowing away despite the wind’s best attempts). AND having an awesome team.

I am now going to take my insanely windburnt face (I definitely did not realize that 8 hours of standing in the wind could result in excruciating pain) to my cold and unwelcoming sleeping bag and dwell on how people are awesome. Cause they are. I just need to let myself remember that and suppress the instinct to dwell on the few-and-far-between jerks.

Bring it Day 2.

Here We Go

Well, it's T-minus one hour until I head over to the university. I've gone through pretty much every emotion from "Why was I stupid enough to sign up for this??" to "I should be doing this with my entire life!" But, as a good friend pointed out, that would only add to the problem because then I would be, well, homeless.

I finally managed to get my hands on a sleeping bag and pillow so I'm actually starting to feel prepared. I'm most looking forward to having the time in the evening to just exist, electronics free, and get to know my fellow teammates. I'm least looking forward to a) the cold, sleepless nights and b) people's reactions. For the most part, I've gotten really positive support when I've told people about this, but I also know in the past they've been ridiculed and mocked. I'm torn; I am a people pleaser and have a desperate need to have everyone approve of me, but I also really care about this project and am willing to make people uncomfortable if it means supporting a great cause. I know it's not about what people think, so this week will be a very tangible opportunity for me to come to terms with that. It will be humbling and frustrating, but an important experience. I'm excited and nervous and ready. As my mom quoted to me this morning:

I don't want to just be changed, I want to be change.

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!!