Beauty in the struggle: Edmonton TikToker aims to end hunger with street outreach

Kora-lea Vidal, once a running back for Canada’s silver-medal-winning national football team, says she never thought she’d escape domestic violence and become homeless.

Vidal, 36, often posts videos on TikTok, where she’s amassed nearly 55,000 followers. She covers tough content but also strives to “show there’s a beauty in the struggle.”

“It’s interesting because, when I fell into homelessness myself, as much as it’s a struggle just to meet your basic needs like food, shelter and showers, there’s kind of like a weird sense of freedom to it as well.”

She says her troubles help fuel her mission to end world hunger, starting in some rough areas of downtown Edmonton. In 2017, she started a humanitarian movement called Live Lifted dedicated to meeting that goal.