MONCTON – Youth residences in the Maritimes are raising awareness for a national campaign to help get young people off the street.
In Moncton on Friday, a group of dedicated volunteers braved the cold and rode around on city buses, giving away winter hats.
“The blitz that we are doing today is to raise awareness for an event called Coldest Night of the Year coming up on Feb. 22,” said Cathy Manuel from Moncton Youth Residences.
The walking event is being held in 63 cities across Canada, including Moncton, Halifax, Saint John and in the Annapolis Valley.
“The money is being used to help organizations that help homeless people,” Manuel said.
In Moncton and Halifax, the money raised will support programs specifically for homeless youth, which Manuel says is a growing problem across the Maritimes.
“There are a lot of young people that have no stable address,” she said. “They don’t know where they are going to get their next meal.”
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Celeste Arsenault, 18, will never forget her coldest night of the year — a night she says was “pretty scary.”
Like many teens, Celeste ran away from her home in Moncton just before Christmas.
“I just don’t have a very good relationship with my parents,” she said.
At first, she couch-surfed with friends, but the available couches ran out quickly.
“I kind of slept under somebody’s stairs it was really cold. I just kinda huddled up under there,” she said.
Cold and alone, she curled up under a set of stairs too nervous to sleep. She said going home wasn’t an option.
“It was around downtown and…it’s weird at nighttime.”
That’s when Arsenault reached out for help from the Moncton Youth Residence.
“They have a program for transitional housing and basically they helped me find a job and get on my own and stuff,” she said.
Manuel says the money raised from the Coldest Night of the Year event will help buy food, clothing and guidance for lost youth like Arsenault.
“We provide a roof over their heads and we try to teach them the skills they need to live independently,” she said.
Celeste says she never wants to sleep outside again. With help from the program, she hopes to find a job soon and maybe get her own apartment.
Since joining the transitional housing program, she says life is indeed looking up, but knows going forward will still be a challenge.
“I am not sure what I am going to do next, but I will figure it out.”
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