Out in the Cold 09.
Students from the University of Toronto, St. George Campus spend the night in the cold outside the Student Union Building, Nov. 20. Toronto’s first Out in the Cold event aims to raise awareness and funding for those affected by housing issues across Toronto.
Photo/ROBERT PALMER
With only cardboard boxes, tarps and sleeping bags protecting them from the elements, over 30 people spent the night on the cold soil beside King's College Circle.This one-night fundraiser on Nov. 20 was aptly titled Out in the Cold. Staged by University of Toronto students, it was just a small sample of the everyday realities faced by the thousands of people in desperate housing situations in Toronto.
"Students are incredibly privileged. The education and financial positions relative to others in society puts us in a position where we can advocate for long-term solutions," said Jenna Van Draanen, one of the key organizers at the event.
Out in the Cold is new to Toronto, but was concurrently running in Waterloo for its third year. When Van Draanen came to Toronto to pursue her master's degree, she brought the event with her. In previous years she said the event raised an average of $3,000 in pledges, with this year's donations going directly to 416 Community Support for Women, a Toronto charity offering mental health and addiction services.
As the temperature began to drop to a chilly five degrees, the group of students began to arrange their crude shelters outside the Student Union Building and hanging banners around the area. Each participant was responsible for raising pledges, but money was just one of the reasons to stage a public demonstration.
"The long-term goal would be housing for everyone, but we're doing whatever we can in our capacity to get their step by step," said Van Draanen.
The steps they could take toward their goals were explained before the event in a special lecture by Ann Fitzpatrick, a community worker with the Children's Aid Society of Toronto.
"There are two sides to homelessness in Toronto. There is the homelessness that we see like people sleeping on the streets in the cold of winter and the summer and then there is the hidden homelessness in our city," said Fitzpatrick. "It's people sleeping rough in parks, cars or stairwells...this is hidden from the community, but it is a massive problem."
Many of these "invisible homeless" end up living in shelters or in housing situations where they are exploited and unsafe. She explained how over the last two decades funding for affordable housing has been dramatically reduced while the definition of "affordable housing" has been changed to be much less available to those who need it the most.
Issues like rent control, accessible social services and government funding were topics she encouraged students to talk to people about when they enquired about Out in the Cold. By getting people's attention, the group hoped to be able to make a more significant change than just fundraising could achieve.
"It's a man-made government problem and governments do have levers to try and solve this problem," said Fitzpatrick. "We have to decide as a society, what kind of place do we want to live in?"
Watch the video at www.insidetoronto.com/videozone