Rick Mercer, Victor Garber, Seinfeld’s Jason Alexander, and Academy Award winning Marlee Matlin are joining Egale to take a stand, contributing their voices to a PSA campaign aired through major media outlets across the nation. Over 6000 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, and Two-Spirit (LGBTQ2S) youth go homeless every year in Canada due to institutional marginalization based on gender and sexuality. Egale Canada Human Rights Trust—the driving force behind the Canadian equal marriage movement—is facilitating a nation-wide fundraiser event titled OUTatNight, encouraging Canadians to take a stand with Mercer, Garber, Alexander, Matlin, and a host of other prominent figures, and give Canada’s LGBTQ2S homeless youth the home they deserve.
OUTatNight, taking place on May 30th, 2015, invites participants to collect sponsorship and spend one night outside, briefly experiencing a taste of the struggles of homeless LGBTQ2S youth. Egale has partnered with youth housing NPO A Way Home to allocate funds raised, so that resources are spent in the communities they were raised in, with a portion still dedicated to a broader national housing effort. Participants will be asked to spend the night outside, whether in their backyards, on their balconies or patios, community spaces, or at one of two official event spaces, David Pecaut Square in Toronto and Shaw Millennium Park in Calgary.
Those registered to participate in Toronto or Calgary can look forward to a night of festivities, with food trucks, live entertainment, photo booths, DJs, balloonists, and many other surprises.
The initiative has already taken on significant momentum, with support pouring in on social media from registered participants across Canada.Canadian actress Ali Liebert has organized a strong movement supporting the cause in Vancouver, while Enbridge in Calgary has pledged the fundraising support of its corporate staff, coinciding the release of a PSA video. Other notable corporate sponsors include TD Bank, RBC, CIBC, Scotia Bank, and Air Canada.
Those interested in registering to participate in OUTatNight can do so by visiting OUTatNight.ca.
