For the ninth consecutive year, the Native Friendship Centre of Montreal (NFCM) will host the Homelessness Marathon, the largest discussion on homelessness and poverty in Canada.
The NFCM, in conjunction with CKUT 90.3 FM, McGill University’s community radio station, will be participating as part of a national event to raise awareness about Aboriginal homelessness and the circumstances that cause it.
According to Keren Tang, the NFCM’s youth coordinator at the Inter-Tribal Youth Centre, the event will be held outdoors to highlight the plight of those on the streets.
“This is going to be a 14-hour radio marathon discussing topics from the east coast to the west coast on homelessness, welfare, housing, public policy and missing/murdered Aboriginal women, their issues and rights. We will be on air all night long in a station set up outside the Friendship Centre on the corner of St-Laurent and Ontario, where we will be offering food, hot chocolate and coffee.
“The first hours on the air will be devoted to Aboriginal issues, not only the missing Aboriginal women but urban Aboriginal issues, such as shelters and Aboriginal street patrols. The entire program will be carried by almost 40 stations across the country,” said Tang.
The Homeless Marathon begins February 23 at 5pm and runs until 7am the following day. The show will be carried on other community radio stations as well as campus and Native radio stations across Canada. Listeners will be invited to call in with questions or comments at 1-866-594-7729. For more info: http://ckut.ca/homeless/
