From Sunday until Friday, national campaign aims to generate funds for homelessness
Three University of Guelph students have been sleeping outdoors since Sunday night, forfeiting creature comforts in an effort to raise awareness and cash for the homeless.
The effort is part of the national Five Days for the Homeless campaign, an initiative that is organized at the U of G by the College of Business and Management Students’ Association. This is the sixth year the Association has been involved.
The Guelph team has three ‘sleepers’ who spend all five days outside, as well as other committee members who spend a few nights braving the elements while helping with logistics.
The students have been spending the night on the porch of Raithby House and the days soliciting spare change on Branion Plaza, where they sit on a cardboard mat. At night, they are kept warm by a sleeping bag and pillow, several donated blankets, a piece of foam for some rudimentary bedding, and each others’ body heat.
The rules of the campaign say that students are only allowed to sleep inside if inclement weather poses a health risk, and, throughout the week, they are forbidden from taking showers, changing their clothes, purchasing food or drink, and using technology.
However, they must still attend classes and record their experience on an online blog.
The Guelph team managed to raise $600 in the first day, and their goal for the week is $2,500. All the funds they receive will be donated to Wyndham House, a local youth shelter.
“It’s a cause that hits home for some of us,” said James Welton, an Arts major who is sleeping outside for the full five days. “I’ve had friends who went through high school who didn’t have the opportunity to go to school or get jobs, and this is what this entire thing is about.”
He says the experience has given him a new perspective on homelessness.
“It’s been eye-opening in a way because you live a lot differently, you have all your general amenities right near you but you can’t access anything.”
Welton points out that homelessness is a far more prevalent issue than most people assume. Seventy per cent of Canadians, he says, will find themselves homeless at some point in their life, if only for a short period of time. And not everyone is fortunate enough to have a safe place to stay during that time.
Kaitlyn Edwards, a marketing major, has organized the Guelph campaign for the last two years. This year, though, her last at the U of G, she is volunteering to spend the whole five days outside for the first time.
She says she doesn’t want to leave university without having the full experience.
“The biggest challenge for me has been to stay warm,” said Edwards. “Yesterday I was freezing but I think my body has adapted to it so far.”
The other big challenge has been getting food, and the team says they have been hungry at times. They are sustained by the occasional slice of pizza from a friendly student.
Five Days for the Homeless was founded in 2005 by three students from the University of Alberta School of Business who identified homelessness as a growing issue in their community. The campaign was expanded to 10 more universities across Canada, including the U of G, in 2008. By 2011, there were 22 campuses participating; this year there are 26 in total.