TAYLOR BOROWETZ

The evening of March 13 was cool and clear, with temperatures around -3 C. Nights like it might seem downright balmy to some, but things are very different for those without a roof over their head.

5 Days for the Homeless is a campaign that has been taking place in Saskatoon to raise funds and awareness for homeless and at-risk youth since 2008. Their vision is “to create a society where all homeless individuals are given the opportunity to rebuild their lives.”

The University of Saskatchewan 5 Days for the Homeless committee collected donations for Saskatoon Downtown Youth Centre — commonly known as EGADZ. According to their website, EGADZ is an organization that empowers at-risk youth while working with family and community planning.

The team campaigned in the Arts Tunnel and did announcements from classroom-to-classroom. However, for the five volunteers that were chosen participate, life was drastically different.

For five nights from March 8–13, Ryan Luciuk, Ariel Fitzgerald, Victor Valois, Hawa Baloch and Matt Lachica slept outside. They were allowed a pillow, a sleeping bag and the clothes on their backs, as per campaign rules.

Besides their sleeping arrangements, the homeless participants had to adhere to a strict protocol during the week, all while attending their regular classes and other academic responsibilities. The team had to remain on campus from 5 p.m. Sunday until 5 p.m. on Friday, with limited access to facilities to which their student status would usually grant them access. Showers, for example, were off-limits and washrooms could only be accessed when campus buildings were open.

They had no income and food could only be received through direct donations. Participants were allowed the option to exchange their pillow and sleeping bag for an emergency meal. They lost all of their personal communication media, laptops and cell phones and were to write about their experiences each day.

Ariel Fitzgerald accepted donations on behalf of 5 Day for the Homeless in the Arts Tunnel.

On the last evening, other committee members who raised $100 for the cause were given the opportunity to sleep outside with the homeless participants and show their support for the cause.

The Sheaf was invited to join them on March 13 for a glimpse of what a homeless youth might experience.

The group bundled up and headed outside around 10:30 p.m. Some donned their sleeping bags and pillows in hand while others carried folded plastic tarps or pushed a shopping cart full of cardboard.

As soon as the supplies had arrived, the teamwork began. Everyone worked together to spread the cardboard on the rectangle of pavement, then to create a grid of sleeping bags, positioned so there would be no open spaces to lose valuable body heat.

Newspapers were distributed — but not for reading. Copies of the previous week’s Sheaf were to be separated page-by-page and crumpled into clothing or around feet to trap in warm air.

After everyone was settled into their sleeping bags, the tarps were pulled up to around shoulder-level as a final blockade against the cold.

At about 7 a.m. the process was reversed: supplies and belongings were packed up, and participants got ready for class. There was almost no way to tell that over 15 students that attended the U of S that day had just slept outside.

Luciuk said that youth homelessness can often go unnoticed.

“Not necessarily are [homeless people] living on the street,” Luciuk said, but in a state of “invisible homelessness.

“Whether couch-surfing from friend’s house to friend’s house, never really having a secure place to sleep, never knowing where their next meal is going to be, there are more students than we can think of that are underprivileged,” Luciuk said.

These students are trying to further themselves, Luciuk said, but they are constantly being taken back by the disadvantages they have been dealt.

The 5 Days for the Homeless Saskatoon team set a goal of raising  $17,000 for EGADZ. As of March 16, their total sat at $17,597, and the committee is still tallying cash donations.

Annie Stadnyk, campaign project manager for 5 Days for the Homeless-Saskatoon, was stunned by the figure.

“That number just overwhelms me,” she said. “It’s actually amazing how quickly dimes and quarters add up.”

Stadnyk also said they received over 120 bags of clothing and non-perishable food that will be donated to EGADZ alongside funds raised.

Money raised during 5 Days for the Homeless goes toward food and supplies, fuels the EGADZ outreach van and helps run their programs. The non-perishable food, clothing and hygiene products that are donated will be distributed among all of the care homes and the EGADZ drop-in centre.

If you would like to help create positive change in the lives of homeless and at-risk youth in Saskatoon, visit egadz.ca to learn about their programs, donate or volunteer.

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Photo: Caitlin Taylor