Royal City residents can help put a cap on homelessness on Toque Tuesday.
Pacific Community Resources Society and the Lookout Emergency Aid Society are community partners in Raising the Roof’s annual national Toque Tuesday campaign. On Feb. 3, volunteers will be out selling toques and socks for $10.
“The Lookout Society has been involved in the Raising Roof campaign since its inception. Each toque you buy funds Lookout’s much-needed frontline programs that provide solutions to homelessness in Vancouver, Surrey, the North Shore, New Westminster and Burnaby,” Shayne Williams, executive director of the Lookout Emergency Aid Society said in a press release. “An added benefit is the awareness it creates about homelessness. As a result, people know buying a toque helps the homeless and understand homelessness can be ended if we all work together.”
According to the local organizers, 80 per cent of the net proceeds go to support the work of Pacific Community Resources Society and Lookout, with the remainder funding Raising the Roof’s national initiatives aimed at long-term solutions to homelessness. The organizers state that more than 235,000 Canadians do not have a place to call home – including youth, seniors and families.
“There is really no excuse for youth homelessness in such a rich and fortunate nation as Canada,” Ingrid Kastens, executive director of Pacific Community Resources Society, said in a press release. “PCRS is a proud partner of Raising the Roof’s national campaign. The funds raised from the Toque campaign enable us to provide basic needs for homeless and vulnerable youth in our neighbourhoods.”
In New Westminster, volunteers will be selling toques and socks at the New Westminster and Columbia SkyTrain stations from 7:30 to 10 a.m. Toques can also be purchased at New Westminster City Hall (511 Royal Ave.) from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Raising the Roof, a national charity that aims to provide long-term solutions to homelessness, started Toque Tuesday. Now in its 16th year, the national campaign has raised more than $3.5 million for local partner agencies that are working towards long-term solutions to homelessness.
The Lookout Society provides outreach services, emergency shelters, transitional and supportive housing, clean and sober community living, mental health drop-ins, HIV specific programming and some health and dental services in the Lower Mainland, including several programs in New Westminster. Pacific Community Resources provides alternate education, employment, addiction counselling and prevention services, housing support and cultural enrichment for children, youth, adults and families.
People who are unable to buy a toque on Toque Tuesday, they can also be purchased online at www.raisingtheroof.org.
