Northern Lights recipient – Marc Boychuk

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Location: Peace River, Alberta

When Albertans think of homelessness, they typically think of larger urban areas such as Edmonton and Calgary. However, homelessness also exists in smaller, rural communities and is often less visible.

Peace River’s first overnight low-barrier shelter, the Out of the Cold Shelter, opened in January 2020.

Marc Boychuk is part of the amazing group of volunteers who support the shelter. Marc became involved in establishing the shelter in hopes of addressing the ‘hidden homeless’ in the area. He advocates extensively on the issue in an effort to draw attention to the important and compelling concerns of rural homelessness. Since the onset of COVID-19, Marc, other volunteers and staff have continued to search for ways to help those living on the streets in rural Alberta.

As those who know and work with him acknowledge, “Marc continues to bring the community together by building the groundwork to tackle this issue and is always searching for ways to make life easier and better for the homeless population in Peace River and rural Alberta as a whole.”