LETHBRIDGE – The roar of the cold, heavy wind forces them into their sleeping bags. They will do anything they can to stay warm.
However, bearing the elements is only half the battle some University of Lethbridge students will face this week. Five undergraduates who call themselves “sleepers,” will be living outside without anything to eat or drink for five days and nights.
They are toughing it out for the 5 Days for the Homeless campaign to raise awareness about the realities of living on the street.
“Not a lot of people think about what it could be like to not have a place to stay one night,” first-year student Izzie Brock said. “We are just sleeping outside, getting people to come talk to us, helping everyone to see what it is like.”
Trying to fall asleep was the most difficult for Brock when the group first started Sunday night.
“You are basically just lying there, wondering what time it is, just trying to keep warm. If your body is not perfectly comfortable, it is really hard to actually fall asleep.”
For second-year student Connor Bulloch, not being able to go get food whenever he wants and waiting for meals to be donated randomly by strangers, have been the most eye-opening experiences.
“Not knowing whether or not you are going to have another meal, or when it is going to be and how healthy it is going to be,” he said.
This will be the ninth year the U of L has hosted this event, which started at the University of Alberta in 2005.
All the money raised will go to Wood’s Homes, which shelters homeless youth in Lethbridge.
For Brock, it’s all about battling perceptions.
“Don’t make assumptions about people because we are all humans and we all have struggles in life and it’s important to have empathy for everyone,” she said.
5 Days for the Homeless is taking place March 13-18 at post-secondary institutions across Canada.