On a hot and muggy Thursday, Pastor Clint joined six other community members in going unhoused for 24 hours as a way to raise funds for the operation of Mission’s new Medical Mobile Unit. The event was organized by Mission Community Services (MCS) and took place at a local emergency shelter nicknamed, “Haven in the Hollow”.

Each participant was dropped off at 4:00pm with only the clothes on their back and a small bag for personal toiletries and a water bottle. Phones, money, wallets, and ID were not allowed. The first activity was to be received into the shelter by staff like anyone else by completing the in-take interview (lots of paperwork) followed by an orientation. During the orientation, a few folks from the shelter and current staff shared their stories of pain followed by substance abuse and addiction. Dinner was served at the shelter followed by free time until 6:00am the next day.

To protect client confidentiality and ensure participant safety, the group slept in the Extreme Weather room so no one’s bed was taken away from them for this event. Given only a flimsy little mat and one blanket, everyone tried to get some sleep with little success as the lights and sounds of a very active community partying all hours of the night went on outside the building.

The 6:00am wake-up call came early for the sleep-deprived crew, but breakfast waits for no one at Haven. Participants slogged down to the entry area for coffee, cereal, a banana, and French toast. (Cob’s donates the bread and the cook donates eggs from her chickens to make the breakfast extra special.)

After breakfast, participants met individually with a case worker where they were given a cheque for $10 and a number of tasks to complete by 4:00pm. Tasks included collecting cans for money, finding housing for $500, applying for BC Housing (7.5-year waitlist), starting the process of getting a birth certificate issued (with no credit card), applying for income assistance, using a voucher for some clothes at MCC Thrift Store, applying for a job, and more! Needless to say, every participant was busy right up to the deadline. Many were thankful for the timing of free transit for the month of August (although figuring out the bus system without a phone is not very easy). Trying to get to appointments at different agencies without a watch or car was nearly impossible and very frustrating.

Most tasks were impossible as ID is needed for just about everything related to the government, banks, or other agencies and programs. One of the participants was born in a foreign country and the timeline to get a new ID would take many months.

On Friday morning you might have seen Pastor Clint going through The Junction garbage looking for cans. At one point he heard a few cans clinking around in a tied-up bag, but his excitement was short-lived as inside there were only two cans dancing around a bunch of dirty diapers.

At 4:00pm, exhausted participants met back at the shelter. The group was then transported to MCS’ office for debriefing over dinner with loved ones. As everyone shared their experience the room was filled with laughter, tears, frustration and gratitude. “It’s an experience every citizen should participate in — especially civic leaders and gatekeepers in our government.” said Pastor Clint. “I really enjoyed making new friends as we became a bit of a family for those 24 hours and I’m coming away with a lot more understanding and empathy for our neighbours that face these challenges every day.”

Pastor Clint also added, “I was so impressed by the staff at each location. You could tell it was so much more than just a job. They pour their heart into what they do and it shows!”

The group was able to raise over $15,000 towards the ongoing operation of the Mobile Medical Unit. Thank you to everyone that donated to this effort.

For more information on Mission Community Services please visit their website at missioncommunityservices.com.