Engage and Change, a charity…

Engage and Change, a charity serving the homeless population in Southwestern Ontario, and primarily the GTA, for many years, has partnered with Nestle, now Blue Triton Brands, to distribute bottled water to agencies serving our homeless population for over 20 years; together we have distributed over 3 million bottles of water to those in desperate need. Project Water was conceived in response to the little known fact that as many homeless people die from dehydration in the summer as die from exposure in the winter.

Safe, clean drinking water is not a luxury, but the human body’s most fundamental need. Unfortunately, it’s a basic need that many homeless individuals in the Greater Toronto area too often go without. Especially during these hot summer months, a bottle of water can save a life. When's the last time you saw an outdoor water fountain downtown? Yes, there are some, but not nearly enough. Bottled water is the only solution available to get clean drinking water into the hands of people living on the streets. Recognizing environmental issues around bottled water, we have also supplied filter systems to shelters to mitigate the use of bottled water in the shelters but people who stay in shelters overnight are put out on the street each hot, summer day, forced to survive until they can re-enter the shelter at night. During the day, bottled water is a lifesaver. We have had shelter directors tell us that people can walk as much as 15 km/day looking for drinking water so being able to hand their clients a bottle or two of water as they leave in the morning makes all the difference to them.

During COVID, would you drink from a public fountain? Many of the restaurants and other places that water may be available to people are closed now, or at the very least restricted to paying customers. Bottled water provides the basic necessity of hydration in a safe form. Bottled water also enables us to deliver the water to the agencies who can then save it for the hottest days of summer when it is most needed. Many of these agencies do street outreach whereby they bring the water to the people who need it; without bottled water we can't imagine how water would reach our most vulnerable neighbors.

We are so grateful to Nestle Canada, now Blue Triton Brands, in leading the charge in this ongoing endeavor to help save the lives of those living on the streets and in shelters and encourage all in our community to rally for those whose life expectancy is at risk over something we all take for granted - clean water.