Elliot Lake mayor sleeping outside to get a glimpse into homelessness

A weeklong challenge in Elliot Lake is giving city officials a small glimpse into life when you don’t have a permanent address.

“It’s a cardboard box shelter with a tarp wrapped around it,” said Elliot Lake Mayor Dan Marchisella.

“Really sleeping on a hard surface so it’s a very, very tough time trying to sleep, trying to get comfortable.”

Until Friday, a handful of temporary shelters and tents are set up at the old mall lot in the city. They are what many city officials are calling home.

They still have to go to work every day, but luxuries such as showers and air conditioning aren’t as readily available.

“This morning I went into McDonald’s and walked through in my pyjamas,” said Theresa Hiuser with Maplegate House for Women.

“Took my toothbrush, washed my face, got undressed … a lady came in and asked ‘are you OK?’ I said ‘absolutely, thank you, I’m just experiencing homelessness.’”

The five-day challenge was first pitched as a one-night experience, but Marchisella decided it wasn’t enough.

“It’s very difficult to raise awareness over a one-night challenge and our brothers and sisters that are out on the street aren’t facing it for one night,” he said.

Nearby mayors and city officials joined in.

“I think in this day in age, a country like Canada, we really should be ashamed of ourselves,” said Tony Moor, mayor of the Township of the North Shore who is doing his own version of the challenge.

“I just think the government needs to take a look at this situation and they need to put money in some type of organization so we can help people in need."

Officials said resources between Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie are scarce and more help is needed.

“Since we run the only homeless shelter between Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie, we’ve realized there is a huge gap,” said Hiuser.

“We can’t get staffing, we can’t get the help, we can’t get assistance.”

“This shelter costs about $376,000 for a year to staff 24/7 to help the men that we help. We support from right across the Algoma region,” she added.

Hiuser said the challenge is also to raise awareness for the working poor.

“Anyone working right now doing minimum wage is struggling," she said.

"They’re a paycheck away from homelessness. We have regular homelessness that’s being experienced across our country"

Funds raised during the week will be going back to local homeless shelters.

“I was proud to serve my country,” said Marchisella.

“I’ve seen others that served our country that are on the streets that have been left behind and that was rule No. 1: you leave no man behind.”

Although it’s expected to be a challenging few days, Marchisella said the biggest obstacle is trying to break the stigma surrounding homelessness.