At 9:00am March 12th, participants in the 24 Hour Sleep for the Streets event gathered together at the Vancouver Art Gallery to prepare for a day out on the streets to raise awareness and funding towards the No Home 2011 campaign.
With no food or drinks unless donated towards the event, the participants began by rolling out their sleeping bags and preparing for a long day ahead. The morning started off well with visits from Shaw TV and CBC news reporters, and journalists from the Vancouver Observer and CKNW Radio. Mark Savard, the Development Officer at Covenant House Vancouver, also came out to lend his support for the event and provided information to the media.
the participants smile for a photo
Around 10:00am, participants began to distribute informative take-ones while collecting donations that were given. The weather wasn’t perfect, with cloudy skies and strong winds, but the participants knew they were in luck as long as it didn’t rain.
Take ones the participants handed out to the public
And then of course, it started to rain! Around 12:00pm, what was first a light drizzle eventually turned into a heavy downpour, and the participants knew they had to do something. Quick on their feet, some participants collected spare cardboards from a nearby shopping centre and began to build a makeshift cover in the area.
All the participants gathered around to lend a hand in the construction, and for a while, the child in everyone surfaced as putting the “fort” together took their minds off the rain. However, as the rain eventually got worse, they came to the realization that their cardboard cover would not do the trick to keep everyone out of the rain.
the makeshift cardboard cover
It was at this time when some participants, who are members of the Student Marketing Association, offered to have the student club donate a tarp to the event in order to keep everyone out of the rain. Deciding between the alternatives of either setting up a tarp or changing locations to an undercover area, the participants decided that they wanted to keep the high level of visibility and foot traffic provided by the Vancouver Art Gallery and voted to stay and accepted the offer.
Ironically, at around 3pm when the tarp arrived and the participants finally finished setting it up, the rain came to a halt. With the tarp already up and the skies clearing, the participants once again began to promote the campaign by offering take-ones and collecting donations from passersby.
a photographer stops by and takes a few pictures
Participant Ashraf Khan speaks with a curious passerby
The participants stayed active until late into the night and stopped operations around 11pm. By the end of the day, all the take-ones had been given out and $483.13 in donations had been collected. The participants were also visited by several youths who were once homeless or had used the Covenant House’s services before. They showed their genuine support, which gave the participants the determination and strength to continue into the night. It was then that the hardest part of the event began.
Bracing the strong winds and the cold temperature, the participants zipped up their sleeping bags and attempted to get some rest. For some, hiding their heads inside their sleeping bags kept the wind from chilling the face. For others, curling up into the fetal position offered the most comfort. Snuggled closely together, most were able to fall asleep, while a few unlucky others were not.
As the time went by, 5:00am arrived, and the participants were paid an unexpected visit from a Global TV BC reporter. Dazed and tired, a couple of participants took part in the interview trying their best to answers questions while half awake.
Around 7:30am, it was time to start packing up. While some of the participants fought to stay inside their sleeping bags, everyone eventually got up and started cleaning. With everything packed and the area cleaned, the participants spent the remainder of the time to discuss their experiences (albeit some were too tired and hungry to speak).
Finally, after a countdown to 9:00am, the participants cheered and congratulated each other for a successful event that helped bring the No Home campaign a total of $7017.69, as well as increased awareness of the issue of youth homelessness towards the general public.
the participants pose for a group picture at the end of the event
Although all the participants agreed that the event was difficult beyond their expectations, there was a consensus that it was a great experience, and everyone now has an increased respect for those who have to endure it day in and day out.
More pictures at GALLERY
