Coldest Night Countdown

Tonight, across Canada, nearly 20,000 people will bundle up and head out into the dark in support of the hungry, the homeless, and the hurting. The Coldest Night of the Year is a family-friendly, fundraising and awareness walk being hosted in more than 100 cities, and Green Wood Coalition will host more than 100 walkers in Port Hope, Ontario tonight, beginning at 4 PM.

About 235,000 people used homeless shelters at some point last year, and that doesn’t include the “hidden homeless” who crash with family and friends, or live in their cars. All told, about 3.1 million Canadians are precariously housed, living in crowded, sub-standard housing or in unaffordable housing (meaning more than 30 per cent of their income goes to housing costs), and many of them are one rent payment away from homelessness.

These are some of the reasons we are walking. 

Dollars raised here in Northumberland will support Green Wood’s street-level outreach to those who experience difficulty navigating the barriers surrounding housing, income support, healthcare, and food supply. 

There is still time to join us for the walk or to support a walker. All the information you need is at www.cnoy.org/porthope.

​Thanks to Jeff Knott and his team of volunteers for organizing this year's walk, to talented musicians who will join us later in the evening for some live music, and to local restaurants for cooking up a delicious, end-of-walk "chili fest".