Simcoe man to go topless on coldest night of year to support youth centre

It will be easy to spot Chris Kindy among the 70-odd walkers braving the cold next month to raise money for the Simcoe youth centre.

Just look for the guy not wearing a shirt.

To drum up donations for Coldest Night of the Year, a fundraiser on Feb. 25 for Youth Unlimited YFC Norfolk, Kindy promised to walk the first half of the two-kilometre route topless if he received $2,000 in pledges.

Which I thought was a huge amount of money," said Kindy, who assumed he would never actually have to do it.

He thought wrong.

In five days I've raised $2,600, and it just keeps booming," Kindy told The Spectator on Jan. 24.

I'm shocked by how generous this community is. They want to improve lives."

The annual walk supports programming and operating costs at the youth centre on Union Street while also raising awareness of the social issues of the homeless, hungry and hurting in our community," said director Dan Avey.

The non-profit centre feeds 20 to 30 youth weekly through a lunch program, offers drop-in hours, and provides a wellness course called TeenLink, which teaches teens about healthy relationships, mental health awareness and how to help friends in need.

They're working with the most vulnerable youth in the community and transforming lives," Kindy said. That's what pushed me to support them this way."

As an Ontario Works case manager with Haldimand Norfolk Social Services and Housing and a mental-health worker with the Canadian Mental Health Association, Kindy has fielded a sharp increase in calls from residents grappling with the twin crises of food insecurity and a lack of affordable housing.

The resources are tapped out," Kindy said, noting all CMHA beds were full on Christmas Day.

That was heartbreaking. It's never like that," he said.

There is youth homelessness in this area, and it's rising. The homeless prevention program here does amazing work, but they're full."

Kindy praised the affordable housing projects in Simcoe led by Hamilton-based charity Indwell, and the downtown warming centre opened by Church Out Serving in early January.

But overall, we need to do better," he said. Everyone should have the basic human rights of being fed and housed."

This year's goal for Coldest Night of the Year is $50,000. Kindy's pledge to doff his top, no matter how low the mercury dips, has made him the top individual fundraiser and pushed his Rotary Club of Norfolk Sunrise team to the head of the list.

I love it," Avey said of Kindy's stunt. It's awesome to be creative in fundraising. It also shows how serious he's taking it."

Kindy has since raised his goal to $5,000. He has the support of friends and colleagues, though his plan has raised some eyebrows.

I've had people definitely concerned," he laughed.

I'll be walking without a shirt to just get a brief experience in the cold. I'm hoping to inspire people that if I can get out there, they can too - bundled up - and support this great event."

J.P. Antonacci's reporting on Haldimand and Norfolk is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. jpantonacci@thespec.com