Bringing Awareness of Homelessness to New Heights In Canada

We were very excited to see Change.org contributor and InvisiblePeople.tv founder Mark Horvath given the opportunity to educate millions of people about homelessness via YouTube this past Sunday. While he may not be able to reach as many viewers as Mark did, one man in Canada is using another platform to raise awareness of the issue to new heights: a scissor lift. (Apologies for the pun abuse.)

Donovan Carroll, the operations director at Souls Harbour Rescue Mission in Regina, Saskatchewan, is spending this entire week atop an elevated work station raised 30 feet off the ground to call attention to homelessness in the small Canadian city, where it often goes unaddressed. You may be thinking of Donovan's plan as merely a silly stunt, but combined with the other events and speakers organized around his mission's first-ever Homelessness Awareness Week, the event will hopefully encourage more people in the community to get involved with helping the homeless.

While spending the week outside on the scissor lift may draw comparisons to the oft-criticized "Sleep Outs for the Homeless," I don't get the impression that Donovan's aim is to recreate the experience of homelessness. Instead, like a recent human billboard effort in Austin, TX, his time on the lift will serve as a highly visible reminder of a portion of the population that usually remains invisible to most passersby. According to Donovan: "In some small way, I hope that even if it makes them stop and think for a second or even just to be grateful for what they have.  Usually when you're grateful, you usually think of giving back to the community in some way, shape or form."

The homeless community of the city of Regina also made headlines this week when it was announced that the Oxford House Society would receive funding to build its first facility in the city to help homeless men or those at risk of homelessness, who are recovering from addiction.

The Government of Canada's Homelessness Partnering Strategy (HPS) and the federal Urban Aboriginal Strategy will provide more than $50,000 to purchase supplies and furniture, including beds, computers, kitchen items and cleaning supplies, for the transitional housing facility. By providing direct support and funding to community-based programs aimed at preventing and reducing homelessness, Canada's HPS seems like a smart approach to maximizing federal funding. The HPS also supports a Housing First model, which may raise some challenging issues both in the U.S. and in Canada, but overall seems to be an effective means of addressing homelessness.

Looks like we have some things to learn from our neighbors to the north, including creative uses for a scissor lift.

Photo credit: Scott Sandars