The local 5 Days for the Homeless group has made changes to their campaign to keep everyone safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Universities across Canada participate in the 5 Days for the Homeless annual national campaign during the month of March, raising monetary and in-kind donations for homeless youth. All proceeds donated to the University of Saskatchewan chapter this year will go to EGADZ, a local youth center and non-profit organization.

Brooklyn Denton is the project manager for the 5 Days for the Homeless Saskatoon group. She has been involved with the program for three years now, after becoming aware of the issue of youth homelessness in Saskatoon.

“I honestly didn’t know that Saskatoon has youth who are homeless,” Denton said. “I thought we lived in a province or country that this didn’t happen in, especially for kids. I live and breathe 5 Days for every March.”

According to a 2016 survey by the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness, about 20 per cent of Canada’s homeless population is youth aged 13 to 24, with at least 35,000 to 40,000 youth experiencing homelessness in a given year.

Like most organizations across Canada, the 5 Days for the Homeless program had to adapt and make some changes this year due to the ongoing pandemic. 

Normally, the program involves a group of students who volunteer each year to give up the roof over their head along with other luxuries for five days during the month of March. For this year’s campaign, the local 5 Days for the Homeless group has chosen not to perform the demonstration, due to COVID-19.

Denton says that almost everything is entirely new in the program this year. In the past, the group was mainly focused on raising awareness on campus through the demonstration. This year, the group is involving local businesses more, as well as campus groups, through sponsorships and giveaways.

“We’re also getting local businesses involved, to give them a platform, and also for them to help us,” Denton said. “It’s kind of like a win-win in a way.” 

Throughout the entire month of March, many of these local businesses will be donating a portion of their proceeds to the campaign. 5 Days for the Homeless is also hosting virtual events to raise funds for EGADZ.

The Saskatoon campaign is specifically raising awareness and funds for a new EGADZ program called the Ground Zero Youth Transitional Home, says Denton. The program is designed by and for youth experiencing homelessness, those in the care of the Ministry of Social Services, and those who are eligible for services but unable to receive them.

“Youth will have an immediate safe place to stay while making positive social connections and obtaining secure long term housing or placements,” Denton said.

The program aims to empower young people by allowing them to choose which services to access and how to utilize them, giving unhoused youth more agency and control.

Denton highlights just how important this cause is to the fabric of life in Saskatoon. 

“It’s 2021, and people are freezing to death, because there’s not enough support in our city,” Denton said.

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Beth Zentner | Contributing Reporter

Photo: Supplied | 5 Days For the Homeless