More than 750 Halton families are forced to sleep in their cars, on a friend’s couch, on the street, or in a shelter on any given night of the week.
To raise awareness for single-parent families facing homelessness, Home Suite Hope is launching its first Sleep in Your Car event. To kick off the new initiative, Board Chairman, Peter Kolisnyk, will be doing just that—sleeping in a car for seven days from November 15-21 at the Oakville Infiniti parking lot (2270 South Service Rd.).
“Sleeping in my car for seven days doesn’t begin to define the struggles many families actually face 24/7,” Kolisnyk said. “My hope is that my efforts will continue to raise awareness for the great strides Home Suite Hope is making to help more parents and their children actually achieve their full potential.”
The Halton community can help raise awareness for the initiative by sponsoring Kolisnyk through the housing charity’s website.
Kolisnyk’s seven-day kick-off promotes Home Suite Hope’s larger Sleep in Your Car event next September where it encourages members of the community to pledge to spend a night in their cars on Sept. 23, 2017 and share information about homelessness on social media using #sleepinyourcar4hope.
“Oakville is a community of contrasts,” said Kolisnyk. “While this area is regarded as one of Canada’s nicest places to live, we also have far too many families struggling to make ends meet, who have no place to call home, and few options to change their financial outlook.”
“We are very happy to be launching this event,” added Michelle Pommells, Home Suite Hope’s President & CEO. “It’s our hope that this event will encourage people to become more aware of what the region’s most vulnerable are going through. It’s a very tangible way for people in the community to show their support for neighbours who could use some help.”
Proceeds raised will go towards housing, education, support, and training for the community’s most vulnerable families. For more information, or to donate or pledge, visit www.sleepinyourcar4hope.com or contact [email protected].
“We live in a very busy time where life moves at a tremendous pace,” said Kolisnyk. “Naturally, it’s easy to be caught up in our own worlds. My ask is that you consider how you might help those less fortunate, and in doing so making our community that much stronger.”