Joe Roberts is making a push for awareness, funds, and most importantly, change.
Roberts is pushing a shopping cart across Canada to raise funds for youth homelessness, and will be in 91原创 this coming Wednesday.
On Sept. 27, Roberts plans to be at 91原创 City Hall (20399 Douglas Cresc.) at noon; from City Hall, he will walk to 91原创 Secondary School for a presentation in the early afternoon.
The 50-year-old, who recently purchased a house in Clayton Heights, embarked on his 517-day journey May 1, 2016 in St. John鈥檚, Nfld., and his goal is to complete complete his trek in Vancouver on Sept. 29.
Roberts is the driving force behind , created to show support and raise funds and awareness for the 35,000 Canadian youth still living on the streets.
The most recent numbers show that 91原创 needs a 鈥楶ush For Change.鈥�
91原创 has the third largest homeless population in Metro Vancouver, according to a Metro Vancouver count conducted over two days in March. There were 206 homeless people counted in 91原创, signifying a 124 per cent increase in the number of people without permanent shelter since the last count was done in 2014.
And the count in March showed that in 91原创, 50 young people were found to be homeless. Of those, 28 counted as 鈥榰nsheltered鈥� and 22 had some form of shelter.
Roberts said one of the challenges with 鈥渟leepy communities like 91原创鈥� is that youth homelessness isn鈥檛 always visible.
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鈥淵outh homeless, like actually sitting on a piece of cardboard, that鈥檚 just the tip of the iceberg,鈥� Roberts told the Times. 鈥淭he youth that are at risk, that you don鈥檛 see, those are the ones that are really concerning. Youth homelessness begins with couch surfing, it begins with invisible homelessness. And that鈥檚 where young people are at their most vulnerable.鈥�
He said there are thousands of young people at risk of becoming homeless who are dealing with issues such as mental health issues, addiction, family conflict, and abuse.
鈥淭hey are on the fence and they could be, if we don鈥檛 get our services wrapped around them, be that next person sitting on cardboard,鈥� Roberts said.
https://youtu.be/DEqia0JMujA?t=20s
Former drug addict
Roberts is no ordinary Joe: he uses his personal experience as a former drug addict and homeless youth in Vancouver.
He turned his life around, got clean, returned to school, and became the successful CEO of a multimedia company.
Roberts鈥� arrival in 91原创 will mark 9,019 km into his 9,220 km journey, and by the time The Push for Change arrives in 91原创, he will have shared his personal story of transformation with a million Canadians at more than 450 events in 10 provinces and two territories.
He said travelling around the nation has been an extraordinary experience. 鈥淲alking across the second widest country on the planet on your own steam is a full time job for 17 months,鈥� he said.
And while the many sights he鈥檚 soaked in during his journey are indelible, it鈥檚 the people he鈥檚 encountered along the way who have impressed him the most.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not the ocean coastline or the curious wolf who followed me in northern Ontario,鈥� he said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not just Canada鈥檚 natural beauty, it鈥檚 the beauty of its people and our values. As we celebrate Canada鈥檚 150th birthday, I鈥檝e re-fallen in love with this country because of its people. Canadians aren鈥檛 short on social justice and rolling up their sleeves on important issues like youth homelessness. That鈥檚 what has inspired me the most.鈥�
Roberts said sponsors have stepped up to fully fund the trek, so none of the money raised goes towards operating expenses.
鈥淭he money that we鈥檝e raised, which is approximately $550,000, we had a provision to leave some of that in the communities we鈥檝e went through. The half that we have kept, we have forwarded that to our charitable partner, which is .鈥�
In particular, Push for Change is supporting the Raising the Roof , a youth-based homeless prevention model that 鈥渁ddresses homelessness before it happens, with young people who are at risk but are still in schools,鈥� Roberts explained.
Homelessness costs Canadians
The shopping cart is a symbol of Roberts鈥� transformation from youth homelessness, a nation-wide problem that takes a toll in many ways.
For example:
鈥� the annual cost to keep a single youth in the shelter system is estimated to be between $30,000-$40,000;
鈥� the cost of keeping a single youth in a detention centre is estimated at $250 a day, or $100,000 a year; and
鈥� Canada鈥檚 total homeless population 鈥� estimated by government to be 150,000 and by non-governmental agencies to be as high as 300,000 costs taxpayers as much as $7 billion annually.
Grand finale
The Push for Change winds up with the grand finale Sept. 29 at at the Vancouver Public Library, 350 W Georgia St. It will include a 鈥榃alk with Joe Parade.鈥�
For more about the initiative, or to donate, visit .
