The Salvation Army Gateway of Hope is still $22,000 short from reaching its goal ahead of this year鈥檚 Coldest Night of the Year fundraiser.
The annual charity event is a family-friendly walk to raise money for organizations serving people experiencing 鈥渉omelessness, hurt, and hunger.鈥�
Gateway of Hope provides services such as emergency shelter, 110,000 meals annually, transitional housing and family services, according to the organization.
And to support these services this year鈥檚 fundraising event will take place remotely on Feb. 20, where people can participate in the walk with those in their immediate household, as the current provincial health orders state.
Currently, there are 11 teams registered for a total of 51 walkers.
Coldest Night of the Year is 12 days away!
鈥� Gateway Of Hope (@Gateway_of_Hope)
To help us hit our goal, we need 10 walkers to sign up every day for the next 5 days. So talk to your friends, family or coworkers and put a team together that can (safely) walk for this great cause!
One of those teams include the 91原创 Community Action Table (CAT).
鈥淲e鈥檝e been involved in a lot of projects that are addressing specifically the overdose crisis, but also broader than that, taking into consideration vulnerable groups in our communities like the homeless population,鈥� said Daniel Synder, project coordinator with the 91原创 CAT for overdose response.
But he wants to make it clear the two don鈥檛 go hand-in hand.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to correlate substance use, or, in particular, addiction with homelessness, as being tied together exclusively鈥� and while we want to support people that are experiencing homelessness in the community, it鈥檚 not always driven by substance use or addiction.鈥�
READ MORE: B.C. paramedics respond to record-breaking number of overdose calls in 2020
The pandemic has exacerbated issues around homelessness and addiction as people are struggling financially and find themselves isolated and disconnected, says Synder.
He underscores the importance of being 鈥減ersistent and diligent鈥� with talking about it.
鈥淎nd the other thing that talking about it does is, it reduces the stigma that is often tied to homelessness, or people that look a certain way, or people that are struggling with addictions, particularly with certain substances, where we kind of write them off or discredit them in the eyes of the rest of society,鈥� Synder notes.
READ MORE: 鈥楻aising the alarm:鈥� Priority vaccines urged for homeless population, shelter staff
鈥淚 overcame addiction, and it is possible, I want people to know that.鈥�
The local CAT team is currently made up of 11 members and has raised $4,200.
鈥淧eople are able to sign up if they鈥檇 like to join our team and try to raise funds for the 91原创 Community Action Team, towards the Gateway of Hope and that would be really great. Otherwise, people can just donate to the team as well,鈥� said team captain Dana Dmytro.
For more information about the fundraiser or to donate visit .
joti.grewal@blackpress.ca
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