Out in the cold to help
The city’s deputy police chief is spending a night on the streets in January to draw awareness to homelessness.
Tim Farquharson will brave the cold downtown from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. on Jan. 26.
He’ll be on George St., but he won’t be standing still. Farquharson expects to be on the move to keep warm.
The deputy chief teamed up with Camille Parent, of Peterborough Cares, for the endeavour.
A recent tour of the YES Youth and Family Emergency Shelter left Parent in awe of the work being done.
That prompted him to reach out to Farquharson – who Parent knew was an advocate for the homeless – to see what they could do to make a difference.
Farquharson agreed to hit the streets for 12 hours on a Friday night to bring attention to an issue that he said touches every city in Canada.
Parent doesn’t do well in the cold, though, so he doesn’t intend to stay out – unless the deputy chief asks.
“I’m not a winter person,” said Parent.
The plan is to have musicians out with Farquharson as much as possible. Bobby Watson already signed up to take part.
The deputy chief will be collecting money for YES, Brock Mission (a men’s shelter) and the Warming Room (a place for folks in need to sleep at night during winter months).
He hopes citizens walk away knowing that everyone has a part to play in helping one another – that no one is better than anyone else, he included.
“I’m no more special than they are – I’m just in a position where I’m able to help in someway, so that’s what I want to do,” Farquharson said.
In the meantime, Farqui, as he’s affectionately known, has some shopping to do to try to stay warm that day. “I don’t even have a pair of boots with a liner in them,” he said.
NOTE: Camille Parent has already started collecting donations on behalf of the event and can be reached at 705-748-9961 to discuss pickup or funds can be dropped off at Peterborough Vacuum in Parkway Place on Lansdowne St. W.