It’s been about three years since Chris Higgins has been beardless. His facial hair now reaches down to his chest. He describes it as “spiraling out of control a little bit.”
But not for long. Higgins is prepared to lose it for a good cause.
He is going to allow someone to shave it off as part of a fundraising campaign aimed at creating welcome packages for people moving into two temporary modular housing complexes being built in the Downtown Eastside not too far from where he lives in Grandview-Woodlands.
A 39-unit complex at 1131 Franklin St., which will be run by PHS Community Services, is expected to open in late April, while a 39-unit complex for women at 525 Powell St., which will be run by Atira Women’s Resource Society, is expected to open in May.
Higgins’ goal is to raise $3,900 — $50 towards items for each of the 78 residents. He’ll buy products such as soap, shampoo, shaving kits, cleaning products, dishes and utensils. If they want to, contributors will be able to help him package everything up for the residents. The campaign started on the weekend and will run for two weeks.
As of April 5, Higgins had collected $1,375 through his fundraising page, which he’s called “Bare necessities for people moving off the street” — the “bare” also being a nod to his intention to lose the beard.
The person who donates the largest amount will have the honour of shaving off his chin sweater.
Higgins, who works for the city, was inspired by Marpole residents who created welcome packages for residents of a modular housing complex in that neighbourhood.
“When I saw those [Marpole] efforts, I thought, wow, this is really cool… I’m a news junkie, and a Vancouver junkie, and I really like [hearing about] all of the things that are happening in the city. So I had been reading lots about it and all the stories I had read to date were negative," he said. "Then I saw this positive action and I thought I could do something like this.”
A friend of Higgins had already suggested he do some sort of fundraiser to remove his beard, and his wife also wants to see it off.
So he contacted the Marpole group for tips about creating welcome packages and he reached out to the non-profit operators of the two modular housing projects to get advice on what’s needed.
He’s pleased with the results of his campaign so far, which has sparked banter between contributors, including one joking about taking a rusty axe to his beard.
Higgins is also reaching out to see if children in the area want to make welcome cards.
He maintains it’s important for the incoming residents to feel welcome in the neighbourhood they’re moving to. Modular housing complexes have attracted mixed reaction since the provincial government announced funding for 600 units to be created for the homeless in Vancouver.
“I grew up in smaller community in Newfoundland on the East Coast. There’s definitely a culture in Newfoundland of welcoming people when they move to a new community so I wanted to, in some way, make these residents feel welcome,” Higgins said. “I read things that wouldn’t make me feel very welcome in other communities so this is something we can do to make people feel welcome in that Newfoundland culture and tradition.”
More information about Higgins' campaign can be found here.
Meanwhile, the City of Vancouver is hosting an information session from 4 to 7 p.m., April 5, about the proposal to build a temporary modular housing complex at Little Mountain. The session is being held at Immanuel Baptist Church at 109 East 40th Ave.
