Issue date: 2/4/10 Section: News

Like James, pictured above, many living on Toronto's streets reject shelters. Steinhauer hopes Project Winter Survival reaches these individuals Photo: Joshua Freedman

Unlike most entrepreneurs, Jody Steinhauer welcomes a downturn, at least in the winter. Steinhauer organizes the Winter Survival Kit program for homeless shelters across Toronto, and this year demand for kits has more than doubled.

"The biggest challenge this year was that over twice as many kits were requested by organizations," explains Steinhauer, who also runs a discount wholesaler in the city. She says she was shocked by the inflated numbers.

For nine years, Steinhauer has spearheaded Project Winter Survival, a charitable project funded largely by Bargains Group, where Steinhauer is Chief Bargains Officer. Every January, the project brings together corporations, local businesses and volunteers to pack kits with daily necessities for the homeless during Toronto's coldest months. The kits might include everything from a sleeping bag to lip balm to playing cards, depending on annual donations.

This year, they received requests for more than 12,000 kits from local outreach programs, up from the typical 6,000.

"With the economy the way it is there was more demand," she explains. The economic slump added further strain to the project's already precarious dependence on individual contributions. What's more, as Steinhauer points out, there is no reliance on municipal coffers. "There is zero money coming from the City, are you kidding me?"

Despite these setbacks, the project managed to increase its numbers by 575, packing more kits than ever before, each valued at $160. Even so, the boost only brought the total number of kits to 2,500 for the winter season - a far cry from the demand on the streets.

"I don't want to have to do this project," laments Steinhauer, "but this is Canada in the winter - people shouldn't be freezing to death."

With temperatures sitting well below freezing, Steinhauer's message is being echoed by some on the streets. "We're sleeping in cubby holes," explains James, who has lived on Toronto's streets for nearly ten years. As City officials issued another Extreme Cold Weather Alert last week, encouraging the homeless population to use drop-in centres and shelters, James stayed put outside a local Tim Hortons.

Although he hasn't heard much of the project, James is confident the Survival Kits could make a real difference to life out in the cold. "Sleeping bags would be really appreciated."

Currently, the kits are being divided amongst more than 100 organizations, community outreach programs and shelters across the GTA. "There was a huge vetting process," Steinhauer says of applications by groups like the Salvation Army and Out of the Cold. "They had to tell us very firmly how they were going to distribute the kits."

For the Salvation Army, the effort represents an "extraordinary partnership" between the corporate and non-profit communities - and one that will realize real results on the ground. "The kits make a tremendous difference in the lives of people who receive them," says Salvation Army spokesperson John Murray.

Despite overwhelming need, Steinhauer insists on a lengthy application process because of the dangers associated with donating directly to individuals on the street. "You can't just go down Yonge Street and start giving stuff out," says the philanthropist. "You don't know what you're doing and it's very dangerous."

According to Steinhauer, such dangers stem from the proliferation of drugs like crack cocaine across segments of the city's homeless population. "Crack has taken the street element to a whole new level."

These concerns have critics of the project arguing that the money would be better spent on long-term housing or Toronto's shelter network. A recent online post about the Winter Survival Kits on the Toronto Star's website lit up with comments after readers suggested that the initiative was a mismanagement of municipal taxpayer money. "Just when I thought wasteful city spending couldn't get any more ludicrous," read one early comment.

"I think they're missing the big picture," counters Murray. "This is also a way for people who might not otherwise make a donation to engage and volunteer."

Steinhauer rejects any suggestion of City funding, confirming that "this is all about individuals giving back." The majority of products are donated from local business groups, donors and Bargains Group," while the rest come from individuals.

What's more, Steinhauer is quick to affirm the temporary nature of her project. "This isn't a solution, it's a Band-Aid."

"There's a multitude of reasons why people don't go into shelters," she explains, citing practices like the segregation of husbands and wives once they enter the shelter system.

James agrees that many of Toronto's homeless purposely reject the shelter system. "A lot of us don't do shelters," he says, adding that "us up here on Bay Street, we're the forgotten ones."

The Winter Survival Kits will continue to be distributed in the GTA throughout the winter season. Steinhauer hopes that the project will reach some of those forgotten during Toronto's harshest months. "We're not here to judge them, we're here to help them through this really tough season."

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