Student organization raises over $7,500 for the unhoused

What began as a few care packages handed out on Princess St. has grown into a community initiative to support Kingston’s unhoused individuals.

Founded in December 2024, the Kingston Homeless Alliance (KHA) is a student-run organization working to help unhoused individuals in Kingston by providing care packages containing food and hygiene products as well as helping to reduce stigma surrounding homelessness.

The KHA recently entered into a partnership with Martha’s Table—a local non-profit offering prepared meals to community members facing food insecurity. On Sept. 2, the organizations furthered their partnership by hosting a community day event where people could not only stop by for a meal but also pick up hygiene products and other critical resources. Previously, Martha’s Table has served primarily as a place for the KHA to drop off care packages for individuals.

In preparation for the event, KHA contacted local establishments, such as restaurants and bakeries, to secure necessary donations. Ultimately, they were able to serve meals to over one hundred attendees.

In an interview with The Journal, KHA’s five co-founders—Shawn Cordeiro, Jake Heinbuch, Luke Heinbuch, Luka Parikh, and Dominic Sferrazza, each HealthSci ’28—described the event as an “amazing experience.”

“Not only did we receive a huge amount of support from the local community in Kingston, but we also had a great number of volunteers,” Parikh said. “It was a great turnout. We look forward to doing more events like this. Maybe something outside when the weather is nice, like a barbecue.”

Reflecting on what inspired them to start KHA, the five students were initially motivated to start the organization after witnessing the inequities unhoused people face in Kingston.

“We’re all walking back to campus after a night out, and it was freezing, and we saw this unhoused individual just lying on the sidewalk covered in snow,” Luke Heinbuch said. “I think that really just underscored how urgent and human this issue is.”

Following that night, the five founders put together thirty care packages for unhoused individuals in Kingston, which were funded and hand-delivered entirely by the students themselves. These packages contained both food and hygiene-oriented products.

“After distributing those out on Princess St., we first saw how grateful everyone was in the community,” Heinbuch said. “They expressed their gratitude, but then also expressed that they felt like they weren’t supported, especially by those in the Queen’s community.”

Inspired by the individuals they met, the founders decided to expand their operation through social media. They began a GoFundMe campaign, and hosted a physical fundraiser outside of Metro, allowing them to finance hundreds more care packages. Since then, the organization has amassed over 60 student volunteers, delivered almost 500 care packages, and raised an estimated $7,700.

“The [estimated amount] is a combination of money we’ve raised from donations from the community and our peers, and some of our major sponsorship partners, like Domino’s, who’ve given us over 130 pizzas,” Sferrazza said.

This past summer, the organization further expanded their efforts by completing a 67-page handbook educating its readers on homelessness both in Kingston and across Canada. The handbook is now available in over 100 homeless shelters, food banks, and libraries across the Greater Toronto Area.

Now, the organization is hoping to continue their educational efforts by focusing on the destigmatization of homelessness in the Kingston community through education programs at Kingston schools, ultimately hoping to change the narrative surrounding the unhoused community.

“Homelessness is never a choice. That’s all rooted in stigma. That’s why our mission is to destigmatize homelessness, so that those who are unhoused will receive more support,” Heinbuch said.

Tags

homeless, Homelessness, KHA, Martha's Table, Unhoused

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