The executive director of the Downtown Mission, along with board members and community advocates, will take part in the 24-hour Bench Talks event this week.
It will begin on Thursday morning at 11 a.m. and continue until Friday October 28, at 11 a.m. at the Mission's temporary location at 875 Ouellette Avenue.
The event will celebrate the Mission’s half century of success in serving the community’s most vulnerable people, and also continue the dialogue with community leaders and supporters to alleviate the plight of homelessness, poverty, emotional and physical struggles faced by many in Windsor-Essex.
Rukshini Ponniah Goulin says it's a great opportunity for residents to learn more about the mission, especially since they're now in their temporary location after moving.
"And also chat about what they would like to see happy in the future, how we could collaborate with community partners, etc. We're also taking this opportunity this year to celebrate our 50 years of service to the community," she said.
As in past years, Ponniah-Goulin will also spend the evening hours on the bench in solidarity with homeless people to demonstrate the importance of having ample affordable housing.
Those taking part in the event will take turns during the 24 hours meeting well-wishers and community members who share an interest in finding meaningful solutions to reducing the amount of people who are homeless.
Ponniah-Goulin says they already have some important guests confirmed to be stopping by.
"So far we've had some members of Parliament who have already said that they'll stop by. We've had some friends from EMS teams saying they'll stop by as well. It's always a pleasure to see our community leaders of course coming by to connect with us and showing support for the event."
Donations in honour of the Mission’s 50th Anniversary will be gratefully accepted throughout Thursday and Friday, with the funds being used to continue the programs and services at the levels of service the community has required of the Mission over the past decade.
Ponniah-Goulin says everyone is feeling the pinch right now, and every little bit helps.
"It's hard for all of us to survive these difficult times financially for sure. The Mission, we need our community's help as we've had for the last 50 years to continue providing the services to people coming to us. We are seeing so many more people coming to us for example in our food bank," she said.
Ponniah-Goulin says they want to hear the ideas and opinions of people in Windsor who are leaders, have influence as well as their supporters about the systemic barriers that need to come down and how through collaboration they can ultimately house and provide support services to those in need.
- with files from AM800's The Dan MacDonald Show