About 25 participants braved the elements last Friday and set up a “Shantytown,” with the goal of sleeping outdoors overnight to experience how homeless people live.
The event, held in a treed area at the rear field at the Centre Wellington Community Sportsplex on Sept. 20, was organized by the Christian youth group The Door, which operates an office on St. Andrew Street in Fergus.
“The whole experience is for the kids to experience the life of a homeless person,” organizer Kelly Culp said of the 25 participants who planned to sleep overnight in cardboard boxes under trees.
“We see homeless people in the bigger areas, but we have seen it in Centre Wellington.”
This is the fourth year the event has been organized. It is also a fundraiser for The Door, which has been operating as part of the Youth for Christ movement in Fergus for the past 11 years.
RoseAnne Desmarais joined her daughter Emily Herel to share the experience.
It was a first for Desmarais, who, in an email to the Advertiser, described her experience as “exciting.”
She was busy helping set up the sleeping quarters, draping tarps over cardboard boxes and tying them off on the trees.
“It was with great excitement that my daughter Emily and I eagerly anticipated ‘Shantytown 2013,’” Desmarais said of the Sept. 20 event. “This….was a fundraiser to help raise awareness of poverty and homelessness in Wellington County.”
She continued, “As the rain clouds threatened to break open, we busied ourselves building our shanties and enjoyed a community barbecue dinner which included a talk from a local poverty advocate.
‘Sense of community’
“I was moved by the sense of community as various churches were represented in the event. Amongst the fierce mosquitoes and the looming stormy skies, it was definitely an all-for-all project, as extra tarps, duct tape and ropes were shared by all to ensure everyone would have a place to sleep for the evening.”
With heavy downpours and lightning, organizers decided to move the venue to St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church for safety reasons.
“We took shelter in St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church for the night, where we enjoyed fellowship and the opportunity to meet new people.
“Saturday morning we walked to the Centre Wellington Food Bank where we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast sponsored by St. James Anglican Church,” Desmarais said.
“Our group was educated on the activities of the food bank and we learned just how fortunate Centre Wellington is to have such a vital and well-supported and much-needed lifeline in our community.”
She concluded, “Unfortunately, the weather may have beat down our boxes, but not our spirit,” she added.
Desmarais said she plans to participate in next year’s Shantytown event.
