By Adam Donnelly

Bigger and better Campout to End Youth Homelessness hopes to raise more funds for Safe Suites

Dec 14, 2018 | 3:55 PM

KAMLOOPS — Friday night, the second annual Camp Out to end Youth Homelessness will take place outside of Mastermind Studios in Sahali.

Last year, the campout drew 56 campers and raised more than $28,000 for A Way Home Kamloops and its Safe Suites program. This year’s campout is already looking to be bigger and better than last year’s event, as more than 60 campers have already registered, with over $20,000 in donations already rolling in.

A Way Home Kamloops Executive Director Katherine McParland says after last year’s event the word got out, spurring increased participation and donations.

“People of all ages, from five to 65 will be standing together tonight in solidarity for young people,” McParland told CFJC Today. “It’s pretty exciting. Because of the campout and our community, we will be able to open the doors to Safe Suites in early spring, [which] will take seven kids directly off the streets… and provide them with the safety they need, meet their basic needs and help them stabilize so they can move forward and actually achieve their dreams.”

Boogie The Bridge

Boogie The Bridge Event Information

Apr 19, 2024

Two and Out

PETERS: Try as he might, Allan Schoenborn will never be forgotten

9h ago

One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: Sorry - did you say, 'Take your old guns to the post office?'

15h ago

While the city has seen a multitude of new social housing projects take shape in the last year, McParland says Safe Suites is a unique facility as it’s structured specifically for youth, and will offer opportunities to address the unique needs of homeless youth, while preparing the young people it serves for future success.

“A lot of [homeless] young people are coming from homes that have been governed by adult caregivers, so they don’t have those life-skills to know how to cook, how to grocery shop, how to clean,” McParland explained. “They need somebody who is going to show them how to do those things, to help them understand things they would learn in a healthy family environment.”