Osprey Media. - Brantford Expositor

Good that there are people ho still try to make the differrence QJ

Osprey Media. - Brantford Expositor: "Brant Out of the Cold cllent: 'They don't judge people'
Expositor Staff

By Michell Ruby
Local News - Friday, March 30, 2007 Updated @ 11:20:17 PM

Eyes brimming with tears and wearing an outfit he said he wasn't ashamed to say he picked from a donation bin, Brad Giletchuk talked about being homeless.

Among the audience Thursday were many faces familiar to him: those from local agencies he may have contacted over his years of addiction and loss.

“People didn’t want me around when I was using,” said the soft-spoken 36-year-old. “Now people are listening intently to me and looking at me with respect.”

Giletchuk credits the Brant Out of the Cold program, which offered him a warm place to sleep over the winter, with helping change his life. His words put a face to the sometimes elusive problem of local homelessness.

Peggy Weston, who presented a report on the Out of the Cold program to representatives of local agencies, said there’s no way to determine just how many homeless there are in the city. But she says the number is growing and there’s a need for a shelter, open to anyone without restriction, all year long"