Students to get taste of homel

By: wangtao Mood: Date: 05/16/2010 20:35:44 Music: None

Part of U of M awareness campaign

Kayla Wai and Caitlin Thompson are waiting until the last possible minute to take "The Last Shower."

The two commerce students at the I.H. Asper School of Business are preparing to join three classmates in living without a roof over their heads for 120 hours, part of the school's "5 Days for the Homeless" fundraising and awareness campaign.

The quintet will be equipped with nothing more than a sleeping bag and a pillow beginning Sunday evening when they arrive at their "home" outside University Centre at the University of Manitoba.

The simulation of living as homeless people includes subsisting on donations of food and drink, wearing the same clothing -- they can add or remove layers as required -- and not showering until the five days is up Friday evening. The pair will be joined by Emina Tankovic, Mike Gould and Zachary Derksen.

Thompson, 21, said she's been thinking about how late she's going to sleep Sunday morning and when she should be eating and showering to be in the best possible position when she punches the homeless clock.

"I'm preparing for the fact we won't get a lot of sleep. I'm not too worried, though. We're going to make it through," she said.

Wai, 22, said she's not kidding herself that the five days will be a significant challenge.

"I'm trying not to think about not showering and just go with the flow," Wai said with a laugh.

"I've grown up in a situation where I've been very fortunate. I've had a roof over my head my whole life and meals on the table.

"When I told people I was going to do it, they laughed and said, 'are you sure?' It's completely out of my comfort zone but five days is nothing compared to five years that a lot of people have to go through."

Wai said as difficult as it will be, she's going to force herself to study throughout the five days because she has a mid-term exam next week.

There will be seven locations set up on campus to receive financial donations, which will be turned over to Resource Assistance for Youth, an agency that helps at-risk youth and young adults beat the street. The students will also be passing out business card-sized messages requesting Discountwatches for sale people donate non-perishable food items that can be passed on to the people who really need it.

To illustrate the difficulty in getting off the homeless treadmill, the homeless five will also be given mock job interviews on Thursday.

Thompson said a lack of sleep will definitely impact their performances.

"We'll have to try to keep our thoughts straight and be able to come up with the right things to say. When we're on the spot, we might not be able to think as quickly as would normally and come up with the kind of answers you'd want to say to an employer," she said.

Rules for being

'homeless'

IF you want to simulate being homeless, you've got to follow the rules.

Peter Siamandas, marketing and public relations coordinator for the U of M's 5 Days for the Homeless campaign, said the five students have to adhere to a number of rules beyond not showering and having to wear the same clothes.

They must Other articles:http://www.bigfriendsgroup.com/blog/view/id_280/title_Form-an-orderly-queue-for-pou/