On the street she was known as Sally.
Dishevelled, tired and in need of a good meal, she panhandled to pass the time.
What she saw and heard was heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time.
The first homeless couple she met gave her a handwritten list of places where she could get a free meal in Red Deer.
The woman proudly showed tattered pictures of her four children that she hasn’t seen in years.
Later that same day, a man on a bicycle asked her if she wanted to make some money. He wasn’t talking about picking bottles.
Cindy Turner, 39, is her real name. She has job, a home and a family.
On Saturday, she gave it all up to immerse herself into the Loaves and Fishes inaugural Homeless for A Night event.
It was a world, Turner said, she didn’t know existed in her own city.
“It was a very humbling experience,” said Turner.
“Before I would just walk by them and now I won’t be able to ever.”
Kelly Masko was overcome with emotional when she retold her homeless experience to those sitting around the dining room at Loaves and Fishes on Sunday morning. Masko said she will never forget the way she was treated.
“The comments the people made and the way they looked at you,” said Masko. “The looks, the stares. And when you tried to make eye contact, they would look away like you were not there. I knew it was happening before but to actually experience was horrible.”
Masko said she will be mindful now when she walks pass anyone who does not have a home or is down on their luck. She said the important thing to do is treat people with dignity and respect no matter what.
Friends Syfornia Bonnell and Penny Elliott said the experience was eye opening. The friends slept outside a downtown office that covered them from the rainfall. Elliott said she “never wants to be there” again where they had to worry about where they would sleep at night or what they would eat that day.
“Gratitude for what I have,” said Bonnell, about the experience.
About $9,000 was raised to support the operating costs of Loaves and Fishes. Halina Jarvis, Loaves and Fishes executive director, said they hope to do the event every year. Sixteen registered participants raised money for the organization and pledged to spend the night “homeless” to get a feel of what it’s like for the people the organization helps every day. On Saturday, the participants gave up their identification and their money and spent the day being homeless. They had the choice to sleep at Loaves and Fishes or on the street.
“Our big goal is to end poverty here and to shut Loaves and Fishes down,” said Jarvis.
crhyno@www.reddeeradvocate.com