The 24hr Window — A Raise-A-Thon For Recovery will take place May 8 in the windows of the 705 Recovery Community Centre storefront in downtown Barrie.
Four people will occupy the four windows of 56 Dunlop St. W. for 24 hours and you can donate to help the centre while watching during the Facebook Live stream or coming down to the centre and passing by the windows.
One of the four participants is Todd Palmer, who told BarrieToday the event is designed to showcase the isolation many dealing with addiction feel.
“It's four of us in four separate windows, so while we’re side-by-side in a sense, we’re still alone, still isolated,” Palmer said.
Other participants are Samara Whiteman, Jordan Mathias and Jon G.
The event will raise awareness and money to help keep the doors open at the facility, which has been providing abstinence-based programming as a solution to addiction for more than 200 people per week. However, it is on the verge of closing its doors without some kind of assistance.
The 705's executive director, Christine Gordon, told BarrieToday it was time to ask for help. She said the centre is working in the community and people are getting help, but funds are low.
"People are dying and we had to triage to provide another solution. Our private donors can only help us so far," Gordon said. "We built the centre and sustained it as long as possible, but we've exhausted our resources.
"We're hoping the community can step in and help sustain it," she added.
Palmer said he sought help for his addiction to drugs and alcohol on Jan. 10, 2020.
“My story is that they were fun for a while, then they became no longer a choice and I had to use them,” he said. “A place like the 705 is helping many with their addictions and this event is going to go a long way with that help.”
Donations will go to helping the 705, but during the actual event you can donate to give the participants a comfort of your choice or have a little fun with them.
“You can donate to get us a chair or a blanket or something like that to make our stay in the window a little more comfortable," Palmer said. "You can even donate to give someone a one-hour nap.
“Then, of course, there are the donations to mess with us a little. It might be making us stand on one leg or something like that," he added. "Or using our talents, like having Jordan play a song, being he is a musician. It's all in fun and that's the best part.”
The event runs from 8 a.m. May 8 until 8 a.m. the next day.
A list of items you can donate money to grant them access to or donate money to have some fun with them is available at the 705 website by clicking here.
The event is currently taking donations ahead of time and is at $7,000, but more is needed.
More information on the 24hr Window — A Raise-A-Thon For Recovery, as well as a list of all meetings and events, can also be found at the website.
