Duncan, BC – October 1st, 2012

UsedCowichan.com announced today that they will be sponsoring an event to raise awareness of homelessness in the Cowichan Region on Tuesday, October 9th at 6:30pm at the Mill Bay Centre.

This event will focus on the invisible homeless; those who do not have a permanent place to live and must couch surf to find shelter. These people are often youth or women who leave their homes due to violence, the threat of violence or other family problems. In order to draw attention to couch surfing, UsedCowichan.com is providing eight couches for this evening event. The couches will be donated after the event to people who need them.

“We were shocked at the number of people, particularly youth, who are homeless or living in inadequate housing,” said Erin Richards, Marketing Coordinator at Used.ca. “With the help of other local organizations, we want to increase awareness of this important issue in the Cowichan Region”.

The event starts at 6:30pm in the parking lot behind Island Savings Centre. There will be a variety of speakers along with music and other activities. The extent of homelessness in the Cowichan Region will be discussed along with information about organizations that provide services to the homeless and actions that community organizations are taking to help prevent homelessness.

Community members are encouraged to join the evening events from 6:30-9:30 pm as an expression of community concern for those who are homeless.

“We hope to help people gain a better understanding of what homelessness looks like in the Cowichan Region,” said Anne Matheson, co-chair of the Regional Affordable Housing Directorate. “We hope that this will create a stronger community response to the problem.”

Used.ca is a Canadian-owned and operated network of online classifieds sites. To find your local city site check out: http://uedev.bpsrvr.com/sites/.

For more information about the event, please contact Linden Collette at info@socialplanningcowichan.org or 250-746-1004 ext 250.

Media Contacts:
Erin Richards/Used.ca
250.381.3633 ext. 3291
Media@Used.ca

Scott Ledingham/PRMediaNow
613.806.7135
Scott@PRMediaNow.com