If at first you succeed, do it again. That’s the approach Trent University student Simal Iftikhar has taken in her actions-speak-louder-than-words push back against youth homelessness and its root causes.
Last March during the pandemic, Iftikhar held a virtual sleep out in Peterborough that not only raised awareness of the fact that far too many sleep outside every night of the year, but also brought in just more than $5,000 for the YES Shelter for Youth and Families.
Buoyed by the response to that initial effort “to do something,” Iftikhar is now preparing to again sleep outside in the courtyard of the Peterborough Lions Community Centre at 347 Burnham Street in East City. She’ll bed down in her sleeping bag at 7 p.m. on September 10 and brave the elements until 7 p.m. the following day.
This year, along with raising awareness of youth homelessness, Iftikhar is drawing attention to the unfortunate reality that many homeless youth are also victims of human trafficking.
The monetary goal of “Sleep Out – Youth Empowerment Edition” is to again raise $5,000, with donations being accepted via GoFundMe at gofundme.com/f/sleep-out-youth-empowerment-edition. All money raised will be divided equally between the YES Shelter and the Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre.
What really has Iftikhar excited as this year’s event nears is that many others can join her. In 2021, pandemic restrictions meant she slept out with Jocelyn Enright in Enright’s back yard, with the YES Shelter livestreaming the event. Now she has room for 50 others to join her for the all-nighter outside the Lions Club. She encourages people to register for the sleep out at eventbrite.com/e/372733525007.
“I was surprised at how many people joined me from their own homes,” recalls Iftikhar of her virtual sleep-out event during the pandemic. “Sleep outs aren’t new. They’ve been done before. But it’s something that usually happens in person. People come out and sleep outside and really get an understanding of the homelessness experience. For a virtual event, I was really shocked at how much I was able to fundraise.”
Iftikhar’s motivation for mounting an in-person in September is her growing dismay “over everything going on downtown. That’s where I live. It (homelessness) is something we can’t avoid anymore.”
“When the pandemic started, it was the first time we saw shelters turn people away. When I heard that, I knew I had to do something. We can’t let people sleep outside. We’ve seen, in our own city, people being kicked out of parks. Going from place, they have nowhere to go.”
“It’s really hard when you don’t what to do. I felt very hopeless at the beginning the pandemic when I walked downtown and saw so many families in tents — little babies, youths. I knew I wanted to do something.”
This past Wednesday (August 17), the United Way Peterborough & District released a comprehensive report that bears out Iftikhar’s contention homelessness is becoming more prevalent more quickly. The 2021 Point-in-Time Count survey saw more than 50 staff and volunteers with social services and outreach agencies enumerate 176 people experiencing homelessness in Peterborough over a period of 24 hours beginning the morning of December 9, 2021.
The survey revealed many things. but prevalent among the revelations is that 71 per cent of those surveyed met the definition of chronic homelessness, up from 49 per cent revealed by the last Point In Time Count in 2018. In addition, the survey found 47 people living outside or in other spaces unfit for habitation. Four years ago, that number was four.
More specific to Iftikhar’s mission, of the 38 youths aged 16 to 24 surveyed, 61 per cent were in a chronic homelessness spiral with one in two respondents reporting that their first experience with homelessness occurred before their 22nd birthday. At 39 per cent, conflict with a parent or guardian was the number one reason for being on the streets.
“We know that there are many homeless youth, but what people don’t realize is a lot of these youths are also at high risk of trafficking,” says Iftikhar. “When you are homeless, you need access to food and shelter. That makes you really vulnerable. Homeless youths who don’t have access to these things are more likely to stay with a trafficker. It’s also part of the reason these individuals remain homeless.”
As to why the Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre is one of her fundraiser beneficiaries, Iftikhar notes a number of youths who stay at the YES Shelter on Brock Street have used that agency’s services as well.
Like any fundraiser of this nature, Iftikhar’s secondary aim is to simply raise awareness. She is hopeful her sleep out will take a bite out of the stigma around homelessness and its root causes, and force a stronger call to action.
“It’s really easy to judge people who are homeless,” she says. “It’s really easy to stay home or look the other way and think ‘It’s not my problem’, but we have so much power to solve this issue.”
Iftikhar also hopes the timing of her sleep out will put the issue front-and-centre for the upcoming municipal election in October.
“Speaking to lots of people downtown, they don’t understand what causes homelessness. They don’t know understand the opioid crisis or the mental health crisis. I hope that, by doing the sleep out, we are putting forward more information about homelessness and who’s at risk, and people will have that information going into this election. The young population makes up a huge percentage of voters. It’s one of the issues that they care about.”
Not lost on Iftikhar is the significance of young people like herself doing something concrete to help young people who are in a dire situation.
“This could be me (that’s homeless), especially with issues people experienced during the pandemic — losing jobs, not being able to make rent or their mortgage payments. It’s also a huge issue for students. We hear about it all the time and we feel the need to do something.”
Now, with the days counting down quickly to her sleep out, Iftikhar admits it’s “hard at times” to remain optimistic the issue of homelessness will be seriously addressed.
“Not seeing things change is difficult, but then you see different (awareness) events occurring and people fundraising and you feel better,” she says. “I really have no choice but to be optimistic, especially if people who are homeless are. I talk to people on the street all the time and they still have hope. They’re still trying to make a change and doing the best they can. I don’t see how I could have any excuse to not be hopeful too.”
Currently pursuing her master’s in education at Trent University — her thesis is on supporting refugees in Ontario — Iftikhar previously worked in the mental field in Peterborough, helping establish a walk-in clinic at one agency among other things.
“I’ve interacted with people who were homeless and very vulnerable,” she says. “It’s something I’ve cared about for a long time. It’s something that my research has been focused on. I already have such a large interest in this. I never thought I’d have any opportunity to do something, but I had to do something. You can’t just wait around for other people.”
Asked if her sleep out will go ahead if the forecast calls for rain, Iftikhar’s quick response tells us all we need to know about her sincerity.
“There’s people out there sleeping in the rain, so we will too.”
