I came home to a warm house filled with familiar smells and sounds, and was greeted at the door by my cheerful, smiling roommate who listened to me relay the events of the week. I had a long, hot shower and put on my slippers, listened to some music and slept for 12 hours in my double bed, which was cushioned with four pillows and a feather duvet. I was surrounded by comforts but I did not feel comfortable. I’m feeling really weighed down by this week’s experience. I feel deflated and powerless, wanting to solve a problem that cannot immediately be solved.

We spent the greater part of this week “panhandling”, so to speak. Our school hosted a band on Thursday and we waited at the bottom of the stairs as people were piling out. Many of them were drunk. Drinks were about $4 each and it was clear that they’d had a few. Some donated to us; others said they could not spare change. We would see people each and every morning with a large Tim Horton’s coffee in hand who would tell us they could not afford to donate. But I don’t think it’s that they can’t, it’s just that it’s not a priority. Why isn’t it? Hundreds of thousands of people go homeless a night in Canada!!! It’s too easy for us to blend the line between what we need, versus what we want.

I’m not criticizing these individuals, but I am looking at this situation critically. I am grateful for the number of donations we received, because it shows me that people are compassionate. But donations are fleeting and we need to search for lasting solutions. I feel that to address the issue of homelessness (or any social issue for that matter), we need to shift our way of thinking.

Sometimes I think we become self-absorbed, and I’m guilty of it even with this campaign. This was an extremely attention-grabbing campaign which showered the participants with accolades and positive feedback, and I feel guilty for liking the attention. The whole point of this campaign was not to draw attention to ourselves, but to draw attention to the fact that our needs for food, shelter and support, are the needs of the true homeless.

People commented to us that we were brave, and that they could not do this. Again, it’s not that they can’t, it’s just that each of us is comfortable in our own lives and tend not to challenge this level of comfort unless we are forced to. I’m upset by some people I spoke to over the course of the week who told me that people living homeless make the choice to live on the streets or are lazy and can fix their problems if only they got a job. This is an ignorant, black and white understanding of the issue. Youth homelessness, in particular, is often not a choice. Many of the youth in shelters are seeking refuge from volatile home situations.

 Whether or not you are comfortable sacrificing food and shelter, I challenge each of you reading this to find some way in which you can challenge your current way of thinking, and shift your perspective. Cliché as it may sound; this week has been an effective way of reminding me of my good fortune, compared to those who are less fortunate. After all, when all was said and done, I had all of my aforementioned comforts to return to.  

8 sauder students

4 more friends from Food not Bombs

5 days of sleeping bags and cardboard boxes

120 hours learning about ourselves and the world around us

more food than we need (of which all extra will be given to homeless in the downtown eastside)

Countless people dropping change and bills into our jars

Even more words of praise and support

Over $12000 raised, and more to come

.

one great experience to help an amazing cause.

I want to thank everyone for all the support and help that we have received, through monetary contributions, food donations, and their kind words and high fives. It is because of you that we were able to get through this all. Our experience through these past 5 days have been profound for all of us, and yet we are barely experiencing the tip of the iceberg of what it is to be homeless. We have had you to motivate us, push us, and help us along. We have had your food, so generously prepared and donated, to make sure that our bellies were always full. we’ve had your change, your 5, 10 and 20 dollar bills, and your online pledges. we’ve had your late night visits, with hot chocolate and marshmallows to help us get through the cold times. we’ve had your kindness… but the real homeless don’t. They are the ones that need our support. They are the ones who could really use the warm meal, soft blanket, and the kind words.

The issue of homelessness is like the Hydra - it is a multi-headed beast, and we need to find a way to defeat it. But unlike the hydra story, instead of having to rely on some herculean hero to defeat the monster, we must all band together, and use all the resources that we have at our disposal to overcome this problem. By putting our minds, our hearts and our hands to work, we dont need super powers or godlike abilities to find a solution, because together we are stronger than any of us as individuals.

This week hasn’t been about the group of us here or across the country just tryin to raise money - more importantly, we have been trying to bring this issue, so easily ignored, to the forefront of everyone’s minds. Homelessness is a problem that we as a society have dutifully ignored and pushed off to the next person, hoping that even though we go to bed with the problem at our doorstep, our dreams will somehow make it disappear in the morning.

its time that we woke up.

have a good day, and god bless

paul

I want to thank all those who have supported “5 days for homeless” across the nation. We received so much support from our community in Lethbridge. The students were mostly very willing to donate their spare change. Everyone brought us so much food that we had to pack up our extras for the kids at the Woods Home (who were very grateful). We exceeded our goal by $1000 so far and hope that will continue on through today. I have to say that I didn’t expect this much support when we began this project on Sunday night. I’m very impressed and proud of everyone and it’s certainly made me realize that there are caring, generous and supportive people in the world.

My “homeless family” has been fantastic. When I showed up on Sunday evening, I didn’t know any of them. When I’ll leave this evening, I’ll be leaving some very close new friends. This certainly was a bonding experience for everyone.

Carl is amazing, his commitment to panhandling was admirable. He begged everyone who past for money and was very assertive about it. I joked with Carl earlier in the week by saying, “You must be Catholic. You know how to guilt.”

Richie is the most popular of our group. His huge heart is evidenced through constant hugs. He did a lot to raise awareness about this event, including using his position in the SU to get the Trews to plug “5 days” during their show last night. It likely helped us raise an extra couple hundred. And his accent of course makes him that much more precious because you can’t not smile to hear his voice.

Mark is hilarious! He is definitely the entertainer of the group. Even before he got hold of a guitar, he was cracking jokes and always trying to keep everyone in good spirits. I wish I had his optimism.

Brady is so compasionate. When people offered to buy him alcohol last night, he told them to donate the money instead. He’s been so great at raising money as well, always standing out in the cold begging for change. You can hear the emotion in his words when he talks about this problem. He’s truly a very caring person whom I’m happy to have had the pleasure of meeting.

Molly - I’m so thankful for! I expected to be the only female doing this and I was happily surprised to find out that Molly had joined our group. I don’t know if I could have put up with these boys without her. She is inspiring and extremely intelligent. I respect her so much for thinking critically and deeply about this situation. She extremely hopeful and very committed. I’m so happy to be able to call her my friend.

In the end, I think we’ve all learned a lot from this experience, not only about homeless but about each other and our selves. I know that I’m a stronger person for having done this and I hope this initiative continues to raise support over the years to come. I will never forget this experience and how eye-opening it was for me. I cherish all the memories of these past five days and indeed, am a bit sad to see it end. I may not see them all as much but I will always remember what a incredible family I had during “5 days of homelessness.”

Wow, here we are on the last day, about 5 hours from the end. There were some points where I thought this day would never come. I’ve thought a lot over the last two days especially about what this project has meant to me and to others. I spoke with a sociology professor this morning who posed an interesting question about 5days. He thought that perhaps some people might see our initiative as trivializing homelessness. It’s true that our group certainly wasn’t as strict to the rules as other schools so in that sense I feel we might not have had as true an experience. Or maybe we didn’t raise enough awareness (only money). Friends came by to hang out and that was awesome. It made the days so much better to be able to visit with other students, play some music and busk in front of the student union building. I think that in doing so, we certainly raised a lot more money than we would have otherwise. I really don’t know if which is better? We’re near $6000 (the last I had heard) and that money is going to be very useful for the Woods Home. Conversely, perhaps we weren’t able to raise enough awareness of this social problem.

I spoke with my “homeless family” yesterday and tried to describe to them the feelings I’d been having lately about being homeless. I started to feel disconnected from society. Even though I wasn’t that dirty/smelly, I still felt as though people were constantly staring at me when I was in the library or in class. I didn’t feel as though I was accepted or a part of that life. When I would come home to my cardboard shelter and my family, I immediately felt at ease, as though I was back were I belonged. I began to resent the other life. I became a bitter and angry person, I can’t explain why. Most of the other participants were quite optimistic over the course of the 5days but I couldn’t help feeling as if this life was taking over me.

I realise that we had it pretty good compared to people living on the street. We were surrounded by friends all the time and never went hungry (thanks to the generousity of the community). Yesterday afternoon I was thinking about how I’ll be able to shower and sleep in my own bed tonight. Through this whole week we’ve been looking forward to Friday @ 5pm. We always had that end goal in sight. It occurred to me that the homeless don’t have that. How hard it must be for them to remain optimistic. I immediately felt very upset. I began to question what it was we’re really doing. How much are we helping? Will it even make a difference? There’s so much wrong with this world and the way we are treating each other. Even if I wanted to devote myself to this sort of social aid, where should I focus my energy? There are destitute people all over the world, with so many problems. Where do we even begin to help… begin to make a difference? While spewing out all these feelings to my boyfriend (Neil), I began to tear up a bit as I imagined an old man cuddled up in a ratty blanket in the alley somewhere. Neil helped me realize that I may not change the world, but I can change the world for one person. So that’s where I’ll start. One person at a time. Trying to make a difference in his/her world, as best I can.

Despite last night being really cold and being in serious need of a shower i am sad to see the end of these 5 days here. i’ve made lots of wicked friends and i’m so proud that i was a part of this!

Night 4 we were fortunate enough to have a high school student and admirer of what we do come out and sleep with us. His name is Patrick, and hes the grandson of the greatest undergraduate secretary and only one, ive ever had!

hey everyone!

lots of love to all of you for everything today, its been a huge 24+ hours… but im tired right now, we jsut spent our last night chattin…. just about to go to bed, but i promise a good one in th morn… gonna be up super early, we’ve got Canada AM coming out to us at 6:30 in the morning… wish us luck!

much love….

Paul

This is the last night for five days.

What have I learned from this experience? Its hard to describe, but i will begin by stating what I have felt and appreciated.

I have appreciated the friendships old and new. I have enjoyed the support, and kindness of my peers and community. Most importantly, I feel the value and fortune of what I have in my life.

I’d like to extend a huge thank you to everybody who has supported 5 Days, covenant house, my friends, and without a doubt the homeless. You have helped me and I’m sure countless others to take one step closer to understanding our collective challenge of solving homelessness and ending poverty.

Take Care

Yooji

One more sleep until this is all over! I’m excited, but also sad that its ending. We achieved our goal officially today though, so everyone here is exstatic and sooo thankful for all the donations we’ve gotten! Tonight was pretty fun, I was minding my own business trying to study for my test on Saturday and doing pretty well, when out of nowhere the boys pulled me out of my deep study and threw me into the snow. A brief snowball fight followed, but in the end I won and we all regretted getting soaked before bed!

 It’s sad to go back to real life, and the worst is knowing that its not over for the actual homeless people of the world. I am really glad I took part in this campaign, but I just wish we could do more.