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.

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.

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 just took a look at how all the schools are doing for donations. Do you all realize that in only the first two days of 5days, we’ve raised over $24000 nation-wide!

Way to go Canada!

After the forceful Lethbridge wind on the first night we got smart and decided to build ourselves a shelter last night. It took probably about an hour to make it but it worked very well to sheild use from the wind and all the garbage that gets blown around here.  Other students have joined our initiative, bringing their pillows and blankets to experience life as a homeless person. The generousity of the community continues to astound me. If only real homeless people were treated with such care. For the most part, everyone is very proud and appreciate of our efforts. I hope this means that more people will spread this love to those who are less fortunate.

I’ve heard a few people around campus complaining about what we’re doing and it’s really upsetting to me. I think these people are too narrow minded to realize what a huge social problem homelessness is. Also, they are perhaps to ignorant to consider the causes of this problem. A women stopped by this morning to talk about the issue with some of us. I thought she made a really great point when she said that for some young girls who are being sexually abused at home, it’s often safer for them to be on the streets. We were told this morning that someone made a comment in the newspaper about how we’re not being really homeless and that he’d have more respect for us if we really did it. Do you think if we did that people would have given us $1100 yesterday? Unfortunately, I think not.

Well, we survived our first night. It was definitely colder than I had expected since we’ve been having such great weather lately. The wind howled all night and blew garbage all over us while we were sleeping.  I would like to thank everyone who has already donated food and/or money to our cause thusfar. I was happily surprised by everyone’s generousity. We certainly hadn’t considered how boring homelessness could be. I went to sleep before 9pm, mostly because I didn’t have anything else to do. Richie, Carl and Mark entertained themselves though, and I’m looking forward to seeing the “documentary” they’re making.

I am constantly realizing how little homeless people have. Looking around the campus this morning, I noticed a lot of students are sick - coughing and sneezing. We often take forgranted that we have easy access to doctors and prescription medicines to keep us healthy. In addition, I feel quite spoiled with having multiple layers of warm clothing. I suspect that few homeless people actually have enough clothes to keep warm. I am becoming increasingly grateful for everything I’m fortunate to have in my life. I’m sure this experience will make me a stronger person, and I certainly hope that it will open some people’s eyes to the issue of homelessness.