Today there was little wind……  awesome.   Last night was freezing, woke up covered in frost and shivering.  Ended up awake for most of the night but was able to catch at least an hour this morning.

One thing for sure that makes this bearable is the people.  Our core group of 6 is absolutely phenomenal.  They are all my rock, where each of us tries to keep the others’ spirits up. High spirits have led to creative pursuits: for example, we hopped on the bus yesterday and play some songs for the passengers. Turns out we can’t sing wheels on the bus, but can play requests for spare change.

I was talking to Erica today about the way our perception of the world has changed.  To say that this experience is eye-opening would be a mere understatement. Personally, I have felt as though I have grown close to those around me. I find security in them, we are a family.  Each person in their own right gives me inspiration…. except Brady.. just kidding.

Seriously though, my outlook on life has definitely changed.  I for one will never forget this experience, and would not wish homelessness upon anyone.  Over that last few days, I’ve had the opportunity to talk to several homeless persons.  Most have shared stories.  My conclusion: being truly homeless is a daunting and extreme environment.  Enlightenment from those who were and are homeless hits you hard.  It’s a crazy messed up world we live in.  Not knowing were you will sleep, if you will survive the night, always feeling insecure, not knowing if you will eat today or tomorrow.  I don’t ask myself these questions, but there are many of those who do.

Homeless people are people too.  Most are on the street due to situations out of their control.  I for one have never really known how truly fortunate I am to have a bed to sleep in at night.  For example, without the donations of extra blankets and occasional hot drink we all would probably freeze at night.

Well onward then shall we………….   sounding like Richie there…  thankfully tonight is our last night.

So today…   we wrote a song entitled “The Homeless Blues”.  Having a guitar while people passed by worked really well. Originally conceived as a way to entertain ourselves, slowly a crowd formed and we found ourselves providing entertainment for a large group of students.  They showed their support, talked, laughed, made donations, and became (hopefully) more aware of the hardships of homelessness.

Anyways,  I’m out.  I’ll post tomorrow with the word on the final night and day.

Mark

We’re approaching night-time on day 4. This morning I woke up with a layer of frost covering my blanket and I hear that tonight there’s going to be some snow! But today I am in very high spirits!!! Right now, there’s not much for me to feel sad about. We have exceeded our fundraising goal, I am surrounded by a warm, committed group of people who I’m having a blast with, I’ve been well fed, and although the sleeps have not been the greatest, waking up on cement is a very humbling experience and reminds me that the day can only get better. The problem is I don’t deserve this. I’m not the one who needs this support. Humanity by nature is SO compassionate, but we can get absorbed in our own daily lives and forget to look at our challenges on a wider spectrum.

A lot of people have been criticizing this campaign, saying that it is not a realistic portrayal of homelessness, and I absolutely agree with them… but is it meant to be? Our objective is to raise money and awareness. What kind of visibility would we have if we spent the night at the homeless shelter? What value would it have for the participants of 5 days for the Homeless to starve because people failed to bring food donations? Instead, people are bringing food donations and in the process, realizing that without them, yes, we would starve. They looked at the temperature, saw that it was going to be minus 11 last night and dropped off sweaters and extra blankets for us. I hope that during this campaign, people can project these realizations/thought processes and assist shelters who are in dire need of the help.

The problem is that this often doesn’t happen for the true homeless because there is a disconnect. Homelessness is an ongoing issue and as such, it doesn’t get the kind of coverage and attention we’ve been getting, and it is not generally at the forefront of people’s minds. So as giving as humanity may be, we get busy and we forget….

So… I feel upbeat today because I feel close to and cared for by the local and university community and because I realize my life is super!! But I also feel discouraged because realistically, even a campaign as successful as this one can lose momentum as time passes and those in need may not have their needs met in the way that ours have been this week.

i want to apologize to my blog viewers all over the world..lol… for not being able to write these past two days. Truth is, i have been begging folks for cheese like crazy…i have been running the streets..you know what i mean.

Its been a very sad tuesday and wednesday. As per keeping my promise,I made sure to talk to a couple of homeless guys that came by our shanti. Love defientely conquers all.

like the subject of this blog says, it ends tonight but my heart goes out to so many who have no hope for an ending of thier plight in sight.

i have seen so much love and generosity from the hearts of so many people in our university and community and i only wish that they will see the truely homeless as they see us  and shower them with the same kindness.

Tuesday night was a bit interesting. i got so cold at night because i couldnt find my blanket. i had just a blanket to cover myself with. i decided to hop to the university 24 hours study center to warm up. In not less than 20 minutes a security guard came in and kicked me out. he didnt know i was part of the 5 days group.he actually thought i was a real bum. for some reason or the other, i didnt tell him. i wanted experience the pain that homeless people who are kicked out of warm spots feel. honestly, i went back outside to face the cold and indeed, i wept on the inside.

Ritchie and i…….(just lost my train of thought)…

i hear it will snow tonight…..i hear a homeless guy might die tonight…..i know you have the power to change anything. oh “humanity, awaken from thy slumber”

carl

The night before last was definitely the worst. It so insanely windy  and seriously cold. I don’t think anyone slept well. Yesterday was terrible for me. It just seemed like this was never going to end. Each day blends in with the next so that things that happened yesterday feel like they happened a week ago…

…a week ago I was living my life much like any university student I imagine. No doubt I showered that morning with shampoo and conditioner, blow dried my hair, put make-up on (oh make-up… I’m sick of looking at myself without it). I had a choice of what to eat for breakfast. I drove my car to school, wearing clothes i’d probably spent a couple hundred dollars on in total. Going to class was boring and reading my textbooks were even more so. Likely, I went home after classes to make dinner in my kitchen which is filled with at least $500 worth of food between my roommate and I. I sat on my couch, watched my t.v., drank my bottled water because I hate tap-water and I slept in a warm, soft bed cuddled up with my boyfriend.

I know what this sounds like. I am so fortunate to have all of these things, most of which I rarely think about.  Now that I’m “homeless” I don’t have any of luxuries - and yes, that’s exactly what they are. In order to live we need only food, water and shelter. Homeless people live on the streets everyday with minimal food and water and make-shift shelters out of cardboard or bus stops or BFI bins. Furthermore, they rarely receive the warmth of a smiling face or a caring heart. How lucky we are to visit with and go home to friends and family who love and support us.

I just keep thinking to myself that this is over for me in a day or so. Then I’ll get to go back to all of my luxuries and I doubt I’ll ever look at them the same way again. I was never as excited to go to class as yesterday when it meant that it got me out of the cold. I actually told Lisa this morning that I was happy I have a midterm tomorrow so that I can spend most of the day inside studying! I used to find it difficult to get to the gym. Now I can’t wait to be able to go again. I even wouldn’t mind reading my textbooks if it meant it would get my mind off of the cold.

I spent a lot of time thinking yesterday while huddled up in my sleeping bag trying to keep warm. I considered what my life would really be like if I actually lived on the street. Suppose I was in foster care, only to be left to myself when I turned 18. I have no family, few friends and maybe little life skills to get by. I can’t find a job because no one wants to hire me when I can’t give them a home phone number or address. I can’t make money to eat or pay rent anywhere. Days to turn weeks, which turn to months and I’m still starving and my hope is dwindling. I’ve made some friends, but they aren’t the kind of people I really want to hang out with. They steal for food and money, and they do some pretty intense drugs. Coping with this pain is getting harder and harder for me so they convince me drugs will help with the pain. Sooner or later I’ve got a serious addiction. No one would recognize me. I’m scary to look at, all dirty and skinny with scabs all over from itching myself relentlessly. How long after this do I start selling my body in order to support my habit? How long after that before I’m murdered over a 5$ drug deal?

People begging on the streets aren’t there because they choose to be. Who would honestly choose to sleep on concrete with few blankets in -15 weather? Who would choose to beg for food and money? It’s terribly embarrasing to have to do so.  These people begging are responded with a cruel look and someone screaming at them to “get a job!” Trust me and all the other 5days participants, they would if they could. Next time you’re encountered by a beggar on the street, try to stop and consider the terrible situations that may have brought them to where they are now. And please, have some compassion. Treat this person like a human being, for you are no better than s/he, only more fortunate.

Let me first say that to read some of the blog entries written by my fellow 5 days participants, go to the uncategorized section of this site (we’re still getting the hang of blogging).  I’ll also prompt them to write more…. 

Morale feels like it’s fallen a bit today, or maybe it’s just me. People don’t seem to be donating as much money now that a couple days have gone by. My eyes are so itchy from all the dust. I’m exhausted and kind of irritable! I definitely need a good, deep sleep. I managed to concentrate a bit in class but I kept feeling myself zone out and fighting the urge to rest my head on the desk. 

Last night, people were coming by every half hour to bring us hot chocolate and coffee. I felt major guilt about turning down their graciousness after they’d gone to all the effort. It kept us warm and fed, but after awhile, we simply didn’t need any more. Please don’t think I’m unappreciative!!!! I’m just using this as a way to illustrate how sometimes our individual contributions might have a greater impact with a little coordination and communication. This experience triggered a memory: Awhile ago when I lived in Calgary, a friend and I went for hot chocolate downtown on a really cold night and saw some homeless teens our age sitting on the ground across the street from the coffee shop. I remember us not wanting to give them money directly, so we bought them large hot chocolates instead.  We thought they’d be happy to recieve them, but they just scoffed at us with disdain when we handed it to them. At the time, I thought they were being ungrateful, but now when I think back to it, I realize that I just assumed to know what they needed when really, how could I have known? I didn’t even think to talk to them because I was intimidated. Communication is an important thing.

Ok, I finally figured out how to blog. 

Being homeless is definitely an experience.  Last night was for sure the coldest and windiest of the nights.  Between the never ceasing howling wind and the two full time Husqvarna wielding lumberjacks, sleep is restless at the most, but I was able to sleep for more than a few hours.  Apparently you get used to it.

Besides sleeping on our Simons, Sealy, and Serta mattresses, being homeless is rallying great support from the U of L students, faculty and even the community.  This is truly an experience which is both eye-opening and attitude changing.  Little things in life are unquestionably taken for granted.

Anyways, I have to finish typing a paper.  After that, I’m off to collect some more donations… at least today we have a guitar.

I think tonight will be the coldest one yet. The wind hasn’t let up and the temperature is dropping. But we’ve just been joined by two more people who want to stay overnight with us, and every half hour people are coming by with hot drinks, donations, or just to say hi. In fact, we have accumulated so many food donations that we just decided to send a huge tuppeware bin filled with food over to our charity group, Wood’s Homes. This way, everyone will benefit! We’ve kept enough sandwiches, fruit, etc. to last us through tomorrow though… just in case! Our friend came by tonight with a guitar, harmonica and a djembe and we had a song session. We’ve also had a lot of younger kids come by, and even a mom and her two sons come and sit in our shelter for a half hour with us tonight. We’re having some great chats! It’s easy to be in good spirits with so many checking up on us, but I am certain it would be a different story if we were truly homeless. We’re as determined as ever to keep money coming in and raise awareness about the issue of homelessness and Wood’s Homes.

For those of you who don’t live in Lethbridge, Alberta, it’s really impossible to describe the strength of the wind here some days. I’ve lived in Winnipeg and even that doesn’t compare. While walking to the library this afternoon I lost my balance when a gust of wind seemingly came out of nowhere. Consequently, our shelter suffered some damage. We were able to repair it though and Molly came up with a brillant engineering idea to keep our roof steady. I’m so pleased with all of the group work being done, not just on our campus but all the 5days groups. I’d also like to add that I’m very proud to have met Richie, Carl, Molly, Brady and Mark. They all add their own personality to our initiative and are always giving what they can of themselves. They are terrific people that I’m so pleased to have gotten to know.

I’d like to thank everyone again for their support. The amount of food we’ve accumulated is amazing! The donations remained pretty steady today too so that’s good. I’m even grateful for those people who have just stopped by to say hello and visit with us for a while. I wonder how it might brighten a homeless person’s day if someone were even to just smile at them and treat them like a human being.

I am starting to detest the body odour that is been created by a lack of, what dou you call it?, hygiene.  i woke up quite angry today. i am ot sure where the anger came from but it disturbed me. i am very tired of begging. it hurts when people actually say no to donate to a cause that in someway affects each of us. A real homeless guy came by today and to be totally honest, i felt fear arise in me. it made me question why i was involving myself in this cause. how can i despise the one i wish to help to get better? maybe despise isnt the right word but the fact remains that i didnt talk with him. i will introspect tonight and try to understand the reason for my behaviour. I wonder the kind of heart Mother Theresa had. She must have been in a constant state of love to do the things that she did..

i feel a sense of disenchantment about my encounter with the homeless chap but i will fight on to begin a change in myself. i will remove fear and replace it with genuine love.

This is my humble submission

“Humanity, awaken from thy slumber”

so were in to the 3rd day after 2 night and im not going to lie the wind really sucks. highlights so far and the new experience or living homeless and the people you meet. today to homeless people popped by to say hi and even donated some money for the cause which knocked my socks off to be honest. were also making a video blog so stay tunned for our 5 days on you tube. good luck everyone