Students get taste of being homeless and broke
Five-day campus campaign aims to raise both money and awareness of problem
Five Days for the Homeless is one of EGADZ executive director Don Meikle’s favourite fundraisers of the year.
Every winter, University of Saskatchewan students spend five nights living outdoors in simulated conditions of homelessness to raise money for EGADZ, a local non-profit the provides outreach and other programs for youth at risk. They also collect food donations.
During the five days, scheduled this year for March 11 to 16, five U of S students will live on campus with only the clothes they are wearing, a pillow and a sleeping bag. They rely on donations from friends and others to get by, and have no access to shower facilities or their personal belongings or money.
“It is one of my favourite fundraisers of the year because it is young people trying to bring awareness to a real issue ... I think we have, as a society, failed these young people for so long by policy, interventions, that they’re not listening to the kids and what they ’re needing,” Meikle said.
“A lot of our current policy is based on covering our own butts, as government, as service providers, and about unrealistic rules — unrealistic rules and unrealistic expectations. And these young people, bringing the awareness, such as they are, throughout Canada, with the five days of homelessness, it gives us a real opportunity for them to bring these kids, their whole plight, to the forefront.”
Anja Eliasson, 25, and John Younger, 22, plan to participate in this year’s campaign.
“As a student, you maybe don’t have that much money to give towards things that you think are important, but you always have time, so I figured that’s how I could contribute: giving time,” Eliasson said. Originally from Sweden, she is in Saskatoon for one exchange term while she studies sustainable development.
Through her involvement in the campaign, she’s learned there are different kinds of homelessness, and it can happen to anyone, she said.
“It’s not something that is for a specific group of people; it can happen to anyone throughout their life. I think it’s important to highlight and to try to get away from talking about it as ‘them and us’ and the people who have a place to stay say, ‘That would never happen to me.’ ”
Younger, a social work student, has worked with at-risk youth in the past and completed practicums at group homes, allowing him to work closely with young people struggling with housing issues.
“This is just another way I can help while I’m in school, instead of doing a full-time job at a youth centre,” he said, noting the campaign also gives him a chance to learn about the fundraising work that goes into helping a community organization.
The U of S group aims to raise $20,000 this year. They will also set up collection points around campus for donations of winter clothing, baby clothing, hygiene products and non-perishable food. They will also host fundraising events, and information is available on the campaign’s Facebook page. Monetary donations can be made through the students’ official fundraising page.
Last year, the event raised $20,000. This is its fifth year in Saskatoon, part of a national campaign started by a group of University of Alberta students in 2005.
Meikle said EGADZ runs a $10,000 to $15,000 shortfall every year in its food budget at the drop-in centre downtown and its outreach services. The centre sees 20 to 30 youth on an average day, six days a week.
The funds raised will also help EGADZ provide clothes or supplies to youth who enter treatment programs.
Homelessness has roots in a variety of issues, such as family violence, sexual abuse, and mental health problems, Meikle said. It can also begin when kids in foster homes or other forms of government care are told they are not allowed to have relationships or contact with family members, he added.
“We are coming to understand and recognize mental health, but yet we need to look at the effects it’s having on these young people,” he said.
Many of them feel alone and that others do not understand them, he added.
“Just because of all of the trauma they face, they feel they can’t trust people.”
Sexual exploitation, physical abuse, intimidation and stigma also play roles in their lives, he said.
“A lot of these kids are shunned. They ’re shunned and a lot of them get re-victimized, whether they’re on the street or whether they’re trying to live out there.”
It gives us a real opportunity for them to bring these kids, their whole plight, to the forefront.