Kim Switzer will be sleeping in her vehicle the night of March 21 – to raise money for, and awareness of, Places
for People (P4P), and to express gratitude to the charity that has housed her for the past number of years.
Switzer said she had been temporarily living at the YWCA shelter when she started applying for supported
housing.
She got a call from P4P to tell her a duplex it owned in Carnarvon would be coming available, but it would take
some time as renters had not yet left and they needed to fix-up the place.
Switzer said she asked what she could do to help.
“The faster I could get in, the better for me.” At the time, she was a single mother raising three children in a shelter and was eager to find a place to land.
She called on friends to help her clean up and paint the house. She continues to give back via renovations.
“I’m pretty lucky to have this place. And I feel blessed to have it. I don’t know where I would be without it,” she says.
Switzer acknowledges the not-for profit has a number of places to look after. She said in addition to taking part in the fundraiser, she can simply be a good tenant, and is passionate about combating stigma around renters.
“Thinking we’re just a bunch of deadbeats, using and abusing the system. That wasn’t my life before. That’s not my life now. And that’s not who I want to be. For not pleasant circumstances, I needed to get out of the environment I was in, and I had to walk away with almost nothing. I didn’t know where I was going to be, but I
landed where I landed.”
Having subsidized rent allowed her to go to Fleming College and do wilderness and outdoor courses. She
started her own business.
She said while it can be challenging to live in Haliburton County, it’s easier, “when you can afford the house you
live in … when you have the security of a house, that makes a huge difference.”
She has set a target of raising $4,000and had already surpassed $2,000. as of March 3. Plus, the Mill Pond
is donating $1 of every coffee sold in March to the cause.
“I’m okay to share my story. It’s not been an easy road, sometimes you just get really kicked down and things
don’t go as planned, but there are resources out there that you can rely on, and there’s a lot of help when you
ask for it.” Switzer said.
Places for People is hosting Sleeping in Cars on Friday, March 21 at Head Lake Park starting at 6 p.m. to raise funds and awareness. People can pledge to sleep in their vehicles for one night and collect donations to support their efforts. They can collect pledges in-person with a pledge sheet or start an online campaign. They can
also put together a team. People who don’t want to sleep out, can support a sleeper. Go to placesforpeople.ca.
