“I was more prone to using while I was living on the street because you gotta drown your sorrows and numb your pain.”

Suzi Gursoy was homeless for more than 20 years.

She says she knows all about the struggles of living on the street.

Gursoy claims she was almost killed by someone she thought was a friend.

“All of a sudden they turned on me and put a leather belt around my neck.”

She says it was a wake-up call.

Gursoy now acts as an advocate for the homeless.

“It’s hard to walk by people I used to use with. They’re still stuck. They’re still lost.”

She was recently at a homeless conference in London where they revealed plans to erect a memorial to those who spend their days and nights on the streets.

Now she’s hoping to do the same thing in Kitchener’s Victoria Park.

Gursoy wants to install a bronze backpack and plaque on a slab of red sandstone, and it would be titled “Between a Rock and a Hard Place.”

She says it may seem simple but to those living on the street “one item can mean the world.”

The design was created by Ernest Daetwyler, the artist who is also behind the park's suitcase sculptures.

The aim is to raise awareness about the issues surrounding homelessness while also honouring those who lost their lives.

It’s expected to cost $25,000.

Local organizations like the YWCA, One Roof and the House of Friendship have already contributed to the project, but so far, only $3,000 has been raised.

The project still needs approval from the City of Kitchener.

Gursoy says her team is meeting with the Arts and Culture Department next week.