A group in Simcoe County wants to do its part to address the problem of homelessness.
Brian Baker knows what it's like to be homeless. Some days he says he wants to give up, but keeps fighting. Baker was forced from his apartment because of a hole in the roof.
When asked what he planned to do in the long term, Baker said, “I don’t know. Just take it day a day at a time.”
In Barrie, about 40 people use the Out of the Cold program every night and more than 100 people use the soup kitchen at The Salvation Army.
“We actually don't know how many homeless people we have,” says Lynn Strachan of the Simcoe County Alliance to End Homelessness. “There’s so many hidden homeless people in Simcoe County.”
The alliance is taking part in a national campaign designed to help thousands of people find a place to live. The idea is to have the people on the front line at support centres and on the streets go out and interview and count the homeless.
“We'll be sharing our information nationally. We'll be sharing it also with provincial and federal governments to help bring more resources to solve this problem,” says Strachan.
People will be out conducting surveys with the homeless later this week.
