Campaign to buy wagons for Vernon’s homeless hits its target

VERNON – A Gofundme page set up to purchase wagons for homeless people following the city's ban on shopping carts has hit its $1,000 target in less than four days.

Former Armstrong resident Sarah Anderson said she set up the crowdfunding website after reading a news article about the City of Vernon's plan to ban shopping carts on publicly owned property.

"I kind of did it on a whim," said Anderson who grew-up in Armstrong but moved to Calgary five years ago. Anderson said she'd never run a crowdfunding campaign before and expected to only receive a couple of hundred dollars and receive a lot of backlash. While Anderson said she has received some negative comments she's overwhelmed by the support shown.

"It's really wonderful to know Vernon has people that truly care about every person in their society," she said.

The mother of three said although she no longer lives in the Okanagan, she's still passionate about the area she grew up in and still follows what's happening in the area. She said she understands council's reasoning for the ban on shopping carts but believes the purposed bylaw unfairly targets homeless individuals.

"I think that they need to come up with other resources for these people," Anderson says. "If council is going to be taking something away, why not give something back… give them lockers that they can access during certain hours of the day where they can keep their belongings."

Anderson said she has worked with the homeless in Calgary and the reason why homeless people use shopping carts to carry their possessions are often complex and involve physical and mental disabilities. 

Anderson said details of how the wagons will be distributed have not yet been finalized but she will be speaking to various charities in Vernon regarding her initiative.

You can access the gofundme campaign here.

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