Thousands of protesters flocking to Calgary to demonstrate during the G-8 summit are doing so on a wing and a prayer.
And once they're here, many of them are doing anything they can to survive.
Filling every corner of church basements, community halls and campgrounds, grabbing an inexpensive -- or free -- place to lay their heads at night, many protesters are reliant on the kindness of strangers to get by.
Greg, who asked his last name be withheld, came to Calgary two weeks ago from Sydney, Australia to be part of the protesters' legal collective.
"The activist community of Calgary has been really cool about organizing places to stay," said the 26-year-old.
"I was lucky enough to be able to get billeted accommodation through a housing list."
Sometimes dining with his billet hosts, Greg said he's been finding meals -- from burgers to elaborate vegetarian fare -- all over the city, thanks to food donations through the G-8 Legal Collective.
"We've been inundated with food," he said. "There are a lot of activists who are making sure we're all fed and that everything is taken care of."
As a watchdog for police behaviour against the protesters, Greg said he's been impressed with how smoothly and peacefully the demonstrations have gone compared to last year's G-8 protests in Genoa, Italy.
"So far, it's been really good -- but we'll wait and see what happens," he said.
Another protester, Brian, boarded a flight with about 100 other people from the Toronto area and curls up on his bedroll every night in a local church.
With plans to demonstrate at the G-8 in Canada since protests turned tragic with the death of one demonstrator in Genoa last year, Brian says Calgarians have responded "amazingly" to the need for food and shelter.
"We're being well taken care of," he said.
"We don't need much, but it's there when we need it."
In addition to offers of shelter, some Calgary groups are providing daily barbecues and soup kitchen meals to protesters who found themselves with little or no money once they arrived in Calgary.
The G-Ate soup kitchen at Bridgeland Community Centre offers a vegan dinner at 5 p.m. nightly during the G-8, and organizers say they are serving up a minimum of 500 meals every day.
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