A grade 11 student from the University of Winnipeg Collegiate has won a national prize for a short film she made highlighting Winnipeg's Siloam Mission.

Elora Gibbons said that it was after transferring to the UofW this year and being downtown more often that her eyes were opened to the realities of homelessness in the city.

"The amount of people that I've seen with signs asking for money or food opened my eyes. It was kind of heartbreaking."

When her geography teacher, Jennifer Janzen, told the class about a contest to celebrate Canada's 150th anniversary, she decided to do a film to bring awareness to homelessness. 

The sense of community at Siloam was what stuck out the most for Gibbons. "The staff and the people that use the services all know each other by name. I was there during breakfast and they would all talk to each other. That was just really cool to see," she says.

She says when she found out she won she was surprised. "I didn't think I'd win. There were over 1,000 submissions and only the top 150 would receive a trip and prize."