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Reality Check - Life Without a Home

Pair of Vernonities to spend days on the street to raise homelessness awareness, outreach funds

Apr 19, 2026 | 6:00 AM

Representatives from a local homeless outreach group will be spending days outdoors to raise awareness.

Tracey and Jimmy Miller of the group Packman Open Hearts will spend a minimum of 72 hours living on the streets in their Reality Check – Life Without a Home initiative.

The plan for the pair is to raise awareness of what being unhoused actually looks like, break the stigma surrounding homelessness, and raise funds for their outreach work.

“This is not a challenge or a publicity stunt. It’s an effort to create real understanding around homelessness, break stigma, and give people a clearer picture of what many individuals face every day,” Tracey Miller told Vernon Matters in an email.

“Through our work, we’ve seen that homelessness is not just what people think — it includes individuals living in cars, couch surfing, tenting, and even seniors and families doing everything they can to avoid ending up on the streets.”

The pair will be documenting their experience through live videos and updates, that will be shared to their social media page.

“This may be a local initiative, but the message is much larger — homelessness is not just a local issue, it’s a global one,” Miller stated.

“We would greatly appreciate the opportunity to share this story and help bring awareness to this reality.”

Packman Open House is a community group that supports people experiencing or at risk of homelessness by providing them with clothing, food, blankets, help finding shelter, and a personal connection.

People wishing to support this initiative can make a pledge by emailing realitycheck50126@gmail.com.

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