B.C. students try life on the streets in the name of charity

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Damian Yeung has been trying to be homeless and hungry since Sunday. The homeless part is easy. Not so the hungry part.

Since Sunday, the 19-year-old University of British Columbia human-resources student has been getting by on donated food and sleeping nights on the ground outside the campus bookstore as part of the 5 Days For The Homeless initiative. At 22 campuses across Canada, 216 volunteers are involved in the project, which last year raised $225,524 for homelessness charities.

Early on, Mr. Yeung's girlfriend presented him her cellphone. Mr. Yeung's mom was on the line.

"She was like, `What are you doing? Do you need food? How are you getting your food? Do you want me to donate food?' I was like, `No, Mom. We've got plenty of food. It's really awesome that you care about me, but you're really taking away from my experience.' "

That experience has been tough despite donations of cookies, chips, bread, bananas, granola bars, muffins, croissants, soup and chocolate almonds. Someone even brought stir-fry to the 10 participants. Someone else brought toothpaste and toothbrushes. During a late-night interview with The Globe and Mail this week, a man came up with hand warmers while Mr. Yeung was talking.

The 10 student volunteers – five business students, three science, one in kinesiology and a nutrition student – have committed to get by without cellphones, showers, or income except what is given to them. Any donated cash goes to a Vancouver youth centre. For sleep, they rely on a pillow, sleeping bag and foraged sheets of cardboard to protect them from the wet concrete.

They also have to attend all of their classes and keep up with their academic commitments.

Mr. Yeung was at a noon class on Monday when his stomach announced its distress. "[It]started growling. My friend was, `Are you all right?' I was drowsy, super tired. I had a bad night of sleep because of the wind."

Despite all of this, Mr. Yeung said it would be a stretch to say the volunteers are experiencing true homelessness. "We are really fortunate to know that in five days, this will end," he said.

Fellow participant Eunice Hii, a 22-year-old commerce student, agrees.

Asked late one night this week what she had eaten before the interview, Ms. Hii recalled a croissant from a bag donated by the father of an organizer. "I realize that's not what homeless people actually face, so we have been really blessed," she said.

Both Mr. Yeung and Ms. Hii had heard of the program before and wanted to do it this year. University of Alberta business school students launched 5 Days in 2005 to give back to the community and change negative attitudes about homelessness. In its first year, they raised $2,000.

The students had to apply for this hardship, submitting a resume, cover letter and vision statement for a chance to get an interview. The 10 in the 2012 effort were vetted from 20 applicants.

Going into it, Ms. Hii worried about lack of sleep, but says that hasn't been a problem. "The weirdest part for me has been waking up right before classes and then running off without brushing my teeth."

Although the volunteers would seem somewhat vulnerable sleeping on the 400-hectare campus, there have not been any security incidents. "UBC is a very safe campus. The students gave our security services a heads up on this project of theirs," university spokesperson Lucie McNeill said. "We have staff keeping an eye out for them."

Hustling donations has been a challenge. Some people have been generous, offering $20 bills. Others have ignored pleas. Some professors welcomed volunteers to make pitches in classes. Others said they don't allow that sort of thing.

"There's definitely the highs and the lows," Mr. Yeung said.

One high, he added, was a 40-ish man foraging for cans who came by the camp and donated $2 after learning about the effort. "He said the most important thing is to give to a good cause."

Both Ms. Hii and Mr. Yeung say they will, henceforth, view homeless people differently.

Ms. Hii said she will stop and apologize if she has no change. She will also ask more about how they ended up on the street.

Mr. Yeung promises "little acts of kindness where possible," and the end of his previous view that drugs were to blame for the woes of all the homeless.

"That was my narrow view towards homelessness. I really regret it," he said.