Some residents in Toronto’s Leaside neighbourhood are upset about a stunt to raise awareness about homelessness.

Residents of the affluent neighbourhood woke up Friday to a sign on a vacant building announcing the opening of a new homeless shelter.

A hidden camera captured the community’s mixed reaction to the news.

On Saturday, the sign was replaced with another one informing passersby that the announcement was an experiment and was part of a campaign to raise awareness about homelessness.

“You told us you don’t want a shelter here. Neither do we. Support us in creating long-term solutions. Let’s end homelessness,” the second sign read.

Some Leaside residents are upset about the campaign, including city councillor for the Leaside area Jon Burnside who said the stunt “missed the mark.”

But Carolann Barr, the executive director of the Raising the Roof, the charity behind the hoax, said the intention was not to offend, but “to dispel some of the misconceptions or stereotypes that some of the general public might have about people who face homelessness.”

“There was no malicious intent,” she said. “We always welcome people’s feedback and we hope that we can help create understanding and empathy versus fear or being nervous of people who face homelessness.”

Barr also said the second sign was “planned all along” and was not a response to the mixed reactions of the community.

Others complained that the campaign singled out Leaside for its attitude towards homelessness, but Barr said the location was chosen at random and had “absolutely nothing to do with that particular neighbourhood.

“I think everyone is very passionate about their community wherever they live,” she said. “That makes me think we should really think more about people who don’t have a home let alone a sense of community.”

Raising the Roof is a national organization aimed at finding long-term solutions to homelessness. The group does public education campaigns and provides support for local homelessness initiatives.

For the past six years, Raising the Roof has been collaborating with pro-bono partner Leo Burnett, a Toronto-based advertising company that came up with the concept for Friday’s stunt.

On Oct. 12, the charity will release a video of reactions of the unknowing Leaside residents to spread the message to a broader Canadian audience, Barr said.

Barr said the residents’ faces will be blurred in the video to protect their identities and the location will not be mentioned to avoid accusing the Leaside community. The hope is that the video makes a broader point about the issue of homelessness in Canada, she said.

And with a federal election only 12 days away, Barr said it’s especially important “to generate conversation” and get people talking about election campaign promises on affordable housing and homelessness.

With the help of Leo Burnett, Raising the Roof has created several provocative campaigns to raise awareness about homelessness, including “Humans for Humans,” a series of online videos capturing the experience of 10 people who are or have been without shelter.

Friday’s campaign has been effective in creating conversation about homelessness, despite some negative feedback, Barr said.

“We’ve had people asking us to tell them more about the issue because they really do want to understand more about it,” she said. “People have felt comfortable coming forward and telling people that they live in affordable housing and what a difference it’s made for them.”

“Homelessness comes closer to home when you really start to think about it.”

According to Homeless Hub, there are approximately 235,000 people facing homelessness across the country. Canada is the only G8 country that doesn’t have a national homelessness reduction strategy.