Sometimes, taking that step toward becoming more deeply involved with a favourite charity is simply a matter of timing.

Such was the case for Tim Collins, vice president, assistant branch manager and investment advisor with TD Wealth Private Investment Advice in Vancouver, when he decided to participate in Covenant House Vancouver’s annual Sleep Out: Executive Edition fundraising event two years ago.

Collins, now 47, had been a longtime financial supporter of Covenant House before he moved to the main branch of TD Wealth in 2008; the branch is a few blocks away from the charity’s shelter in downtown Vancouver. Then, in 2012, when Collins’s children were older and his practice more established, he decided to take part in a sleep out.

But spending a night on the street to help underprivileged youth is not easy – during the 2013 event, temperatures dropped to minus 5°C – but, Collins says, lying bundled up in a sleeping bag on a piece of cardboard in an alley behind Covenant House is a powerful image that drives home the difficulty for young people in leaving the streets without a helping hand.

“You spend a night in their shoes,” says Collins. “You don’t sleep, you’re not warm, you’re not comfortable, you don’t wake up in the morning rested after a nice, cushy night in bed. You wake up exhausted.”

Collins has now participated in two sleep outs, events that are held annually across the country to raise money in the same way that a run or another activity might do; sleep-out participants find sponsors to make donations in the participant’s name. Collins has become an enthusiastic supporter of the event, which raised $343,949 in 2013.

“This great opportunity to raise the profile of Covenant House kind of landed in my lap,” says Collins of the workplace connection that led to his participation. “I feel really fortunate.”

The charity is devoted to helping homeless youth in Vancouver get back on their feet through support such as offering a crisis shelter, street outreach and the Rights of Passage program, which provides accommodation, counselling and support for six months to two years to youth who have made a commitment to getting back on their feet.

On the night of a sleep-out event, Collins and the other participants arrive at Covenant House around 7 p.m. for dinner with the charity’s volunteers.

The commitment level of the volunteers is something that becomes very clear during the event, says Collins, and is almost hard to believe.

“You see a guy on the street, you think he’s going to mug you,” says Collins, describing the attitude that many casual passersby might have when they see a homeless youth.

The volunteers, however, have a very different perspective, says Collins: “These are people that actually help [at-risk youth], provide structure for these people and relaunch them into society as productive citizens.”

Once the meal is over, the sleep-out participants are given a tour of the facility and information regarding the various programs that Covenant House provides. Afterward, participants have a chance to speak with some of the kids who are new to the Rights of Passage program, as well as with individuals who are about to graduate from the program.

Meeting with the youth involved in the program is an eye-opener, Collins says, and reinforces the work being done by the charity and its volunteers. Such meetings also help sleep-out participants to understand the perspective of youth who are new to Covenant House – many of whom are overwhelmed with fear and a profound sense of dislocation.

“You get to talk to them about their experience,” Collins says. “They’re like a deer in the headlights.”

Yet, while the newer residents of Covenant House may seem a little dazed, hearing their stories and seeing how the charity has helped youth who have already moved through the program – often acquiring diplomas, jobs and a little money in the bank while there – highlights the point that homeless youth are frequently misunderstood.

“You realize that these kids that end up on the streets are not there because they’re jerks; they’re not there because they’re stupid,” says Collins. “They’re there because something has happened to them.”

The weather is just one issue among many that kids living on the street have to deal with.

During the sleep out, security guards watch over the 20 to 30 participants. That makes them think about what it might be like to be alone on the street – as many of these youth are – and constantly worried about the possibility of being physically attacked.

Despite the discomfort, cold weather and lack of sleep, Collins says he has no intention of missing future sleep outs for Covenant House: “I will be a long-term repeat offender for [sleep outs].”

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