Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Adam Donnelly

A WAY HOME KAMLOOPS

Campout raises over $60,000 to help homeless youths in Kamloops

Dec 16, 2019 | 4:43 PM

KAMLOOPS — On Friday night, A Way Home Kamloops held its third annual Campout To End Youth Homelessness. The event is a fundraiser that helps them pay for essential housing initiatives for many youths who could otherwise find themselves without a safe place to live.

This year around 50 campers decided to take part in the Campout. They brought sleeping bags, plenty of layers, and lots of extra socks to McDonald Park, and as a group, experienced a night sleeping outside.

Around 80 people gathered at the Parkview Community Centre near McDonald Park Friday evening for the Campout. More than 50 of them were preparing to spend the night outdoors as part of the event, which benefits A Way Home Kamloops.

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The event was conceived in 2016 by Rocky Hunter. For him, to see so many community members take part in the Campout is inspiring.

“It’s pretty awesome,” Hunter told CFJC Today. “It’s nothing compared to what the kids go through — anybody that’s homeless and out on the streets. For the one night that we do it, it’s a small glimpse of what they go through.”

The night included youth with lived experience, who have been helped by A Way Home Kamloops. They opened up about the circumstances that led them to A Way Home.

Image Credit: CFJC Today

For many campers, hearing those stories was the most impactful part of the experience.

“Having the opportunity to hear the lived experience from the youth was incredible,” camper Acacia Pangilinan, Executive Director of the Kamloops Chamber of Commerce, said. “To hear how they’re helping other youth in our community who are in need is really inspirational.”

“That’s really critical for this event. Some people are going camp out and raise money, but even if you’re not, you should come and listen to what these [youth] have to say,” camper Andrew Scott told CFJC Today. “You know, educate yourself on what homelessness means.”

“It just made me realize that [these youth] aren’t put in this situation by choice,” first-time camper Linda Hutton said. “It’s difficult for them, and they need the help that they can get.”

The campers were responsible for setting up their shelters. While some had tents, most people used cardboard boxes to build their own temporary shelters. Come morning, the consensus amongst campers was sleeping outdoors wasn’t conducive to a sound sleep.

“I didn’t get much sleep at all,” Jody Hutton said. “[It was] pretty cold and uncomfortable.”

“It’s only one night,” Scott said. “You might not sleep very good, but hopefully people can tolerate that for one night for a good cause.”

The good news: After weeks of worrying they wouldn’t hit the fundraising goal, on Monday A Way Home announced it had blown by the $50,000 mark it had hoped to raise.

Image Credit: CFJC Today

“I did some calculations, and it looks like we’ve raised over $60,000,” A Way Home Executive Director Katherine McParland told CFJC Today. “Although we surpassed our goal, we have not yet eradicated the problem. This is a significant step forward.”

As for the campers, it was unanimous. They all said after sleeping outside, they’d happily do it again to help those youth in Kamloops in need.