Photo Source: Cards4Humanity
Initiatives are more important than ever with temperatures in the negatives
By Arielle Chin, Staff Writer
After the loss of his restaurant job, 28-year-old Frenchie has been living under a bridge in Toronto, blocks away from one of Canada’s richest neighborhoods.
“We have a different life, but we are still human,” he says. “We are still people.”
In Canada, 235,000 people experience homelessness every year—around two times the number of all students, staff, and faculty across U of T. 35,000 sleep outside every night.
They are people, not mere statistics.
For six months, Frenchie has been living under a bridge alongside 15 other people. Photo Source: CBC/Nick Purdon
Homelessness defined
Canadian Observatory on Homelessness defines homelessness as “the situation of an individual or family without stable, permanent, appropriate housing, or the immediate prospect, means and ability of acquiring it. It is the result of systemic or societal barriers, a lack of affordable and appropriate housing, the individual/household’s financial, mental, cognitive, behavioural, or physical challenges and/or racism and discrimination.”
2.3% U of T students report experiencing homelessness in the 2024 survey research conducted by the Prevention, Empowerment, Advocacy, Response, for Survivors (PEARS) Project.
People become homeless for many reasons. Many are going through challenging times, such as “loss of employment, family break-up, family violence, mental illness, poor physical health, substance use, physical, sexual or emotional abuse,” without adequate systematic support. The lack of affordable housing, especially in Toronto, also exacerbates the issue.
The Impact
According to data collected by Toronto Public Health for the City of Toronto, 150 deaths were attributed to homelessness in 2023 alone. 40% of reported deaths of people experiencing homelessness were caused by drug toxicity; another 38% were through unknown causes.
The two highest peaks in 2023 were in January with 19 deaths and in November with 16 deaths. Between 2010 and 2019, low temperatures fluctuated between 8 degrees Celsius in the fall (September through November) and -5 degrees Celsius in the winter (December through February). Extreme cold weather has led to the overcrowding of homeless shelters, forcing many to take shelter lying on warm street vents or setting up tents in parks and on sidewalks.
Cards4Humanity: An Initiative at U of T
Founded almost a decade ago, Cards4Humanity is an U of T student organization that aims to “eliminate the stigma that surrounds the act of giving money to people who are asking for funds on the streets.”
Currently led by President Cindy Zhang, the club distributes gift cards from businesses that carry hygiene products, food, and water, such as Dollarama, Shoppers, and Tim Hortons. Zhang shared that this provides vulnerable individuals with the maximum agency to choose which necessities to purchase, as they know their own needs best.
Every month, members of Cards4Humanity go around the city to distribute gift cards and supplies such as sleeping bags and hygiene products, which are made possible by their fundraisers and sponsor support. Club members listen to people’s stories and provide them with the human warmth that is equally as important as physical resources.
Zhang describes her work as eye-opening and heart-wrenching.
“We are often speechless from both the trauma and loneliness we witness, and the humanity and love we sense; we hope we have been able to provide some company, comfort, and maybe just what someone needed to carry on,” Zhang shares.
A challenge the club faces is that their mission seems like a band-aid solution—after all, a gift card or two would not get someone a job or a house. However, the meaning of their work comes from the connection and hope they bring to people in dark times, as well as the potential for further assistance that a simple “What do you need?” can lead to.
They are also expanding by organizing more awareness and advocacy events and conducting research into social issues that inform their operations.
Currently, Cards4Humanity partners with Yonge Street Mission whose mission is to “serve every neighbor who walks through our doors, guided by our values and belief that every person we meet has immense value and deserves to be treated with respect and dignity.”
This local charity provides a comprehensive range of services to vulnerable populations, including food security programs, employment and educational support, childcare, physical and mental health resources, and housing services. They provide the club’s members avenues for volunteering at YSM’s soup kitchen, thrift store, and special events. With the club’s membership continuously growing, they plan on connecting with more shelters, food banks, religious institutions, and government initiatives.
On the advocacy side, Cards4Humanity hosted a Homelessness Awareness Week several years ago that garnered the attention of the City of Toronto. Zhang hopes to bring back such events soon and host regular workshops and talks where people can put their minds together to tackle both the symptoms and causes of homelessness.
“I believe that we ultimately need to break the stigma around homelessness to mobilize citizens, businesses, and politicians to tackle the fundamentals of the issue,” Zhang says. “We are not short of resources as a society, just strategies of effectively and equitably distributing them, and perhaps the small gift cards we disseminate would be a channel of humanizing the unhoused and motivating people to come together in search of solutions.”
Call to Action
Organizations such as Fred Victor and Covenant House Toronto are working to support homelessness by providing individuals with basic living necessities while empowering them with education and training to find job opportunities.
We can join the effort to combat homelessness by volunteering at these homeless shelters, hosting drives or building kits, or joining student campus clubs such as Cards4Humanity.
Fred Victor is looking for individuals to host underwear and sock drives, hygiene item drives, household cleaning kits, and home starter kits.
We can volunteer at Covenant House Toronto, an organization serving youth who are homeless, through their application link on easyapply.co.
To join U of T’s Cards4Humanity, follow them on Instagram @uoft.cards4humanity or email them at uoftcards4humanity@gmail.com.
