90 People Will Sleep In Their Car Tonight
TORONTO, Feb. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- For the 26th annual Toque Tuesday, Raising the Roof is hosting a new event, called ONE NIGHT, where participants are sleeping in their cars for one night and raising money to help prevent people from having to sleep in their car every night.
It is very difficult to estimate the number of people experiencing “hidden homelessness,” which includes couch surfing, staying in abandoned buildings, and sleeping in cars, but experts estimate that as much as 80% of people experiencing homelessness are hidden. That number may be as high as 175,000 people every night across Canada.1
For this year’s Toque Tuesday, more than 90 people are giving up their beds for the night in 5 cities across Canada. Together, they have raised over $114,000 for Raising the Roof’s homelessness prevention initiatives, including Reside, which creates new units of affordable housing with supports while using the renovations as a vehicle to train and employ people with barriers to employment in the trades. The Toque Campaign also supports agencies across Canada that prevent homelessness in their communities, which was supported this year by Home Depot and Rate-My-Agent.com.
Raising the Roof’s national ONE NIGHT sponsor, Unifor, and the Toronto lead event sponsor, Well Grounded Real Estate contributed greatly to the ONE NIGHT fundraising goal.
Media Opportunity:
Raising the Roof’s Executive Director, Marc Soberano, is available for interview on Tuesday, February 7 in person in Toronto, or by video or phone call, during the morning or afternoon. He will be on site and available for interview at the GTA ONE NIGHT event at Humbertown Shopping Centre at 270 The Kingsway, Etobicoke, ON M9A 3T7 between 7pm on February 7 and 9am on February 8.
Event Directors and participants who will be sleeping parking lots or in community centres in Etobicoke, Winnipeg, Edmonton, North Milton (PEI), and Corner Brook (Newfoundland) are available for interview in the evening of February 7 after 8pm and in the morning of February 8 before 9am as well.
If people want to get involved, how can they get involved?
If anyone wants to help, they can buy a toque or make a donation at www.raisingtheroof.org.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Leslie Bellingham
Director of Resource Development and Communication
leslie@raisingtheroof.org
c. 289-821-0008
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1 https://www.homelesshub.ca/blog/understanding-hidden-homelessness
