Brendan, a Grade 6 student in South Surrey, didn’t know anything about homelessness, until he, along with his class, visited White Rock’s daytime warming centre this week.
It was the first time the class from École Laronde Elementary visited the shelter, where they learned about the different factors that can lead to a person experiencing homelessness and how many people in this population struggle with mental health and substance use.
Teacher Christine Carriou said she emphasizes compassion and empathy to her Grade 6 class, so this field trip felt like a natural step for the class to take.
The students met with staff of the warming shelter on Thursday (Jan. 25) afternoon and got to ask all of the questions they had in their minds.
“Are there any younger or teenagers that come here?” asked one student, who followed up with, “What are the causes for teenagers or young people to experience homelessness?”
A few students also had an interest in the topic of youth homelessness, wondering what services were specifically available to them if housing was an issue.
“I never thought that they would actually have a shelter but it’s really good that they have one. I thought there’d be some in Vancouver but not here,” another student, Drew, shared with PAN.
“I kind of just wanted to see what it looks like because I was really interested (in) how they do it and how they got the funding.”
After hearing about how the overnight shelter in the area is not open nightly, another student asked, “Why aren’t you open 24/7?”
The group shared concerns and feelings of sadness when learning about homelessness, expressing how it seemed unfair.
One warming centre staff member shared how sometimes, the people who use the shelter won’t get to experience simple niceties, as most others would, in their day-to-day lives.
“Sometimes asking them how their day is going, that will be the first time they’ll hear that,” the staff shared.
The students also had an opportunity to learn about the toxic drug supply that is killing people in B.C., as well as naloxone and how it is administered to save the life of someone who is experiencing an overdose.
In preparing for the field trip, the class gathered clothing to donate, and worked on a painting to give as a gift to the warming centre. The large canvas, with the word ‘Welcome’ across it and a tree beautifying the background, now hangs inside the shelter.
Centre operator Upkar Singh Tatlay said it has been amazing to see the impact that the painting has had on the community.
“We have a woman staying with us because she lost her daughter about 10 months ago. The loss was so devastating she didn’t have the means to cope or any support network to help her through the loss. So eventually she ended up on the streets trying to survive holding onto that huge loss,” he told Carriou.
“She walked in and saw that beautiful gift by the Laronde students and spent the entire evening near it. She smiled after a very long time and said it brings her joy and reminds her of her daughter who loved to paint.”
Makena, a student, said she will not soon forget this visit to the shelter, describing it as “enlightening.”
“I just find it really nice that all of these people are gathered here today that have all of the privileges that we do to help out all of these people.
“If you see a homeless person on the street, maybe ask them how their day is,” she said.
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