Outreach organizations bring ‘the joy of Christmas’ to Winnipeggers who are homeless

December 20, 2024 Canuck

Outreach organizations in Winnipeg have started their annual Christmas meals and donation drives, hoping to share the joy of the holidays with everyone, especially those who are less fortunate.

Volunteers and staff at Siloam Mission prepared a turkey dinner Friday for 700 people experiencing poverty and homelessness — a tradition for the Winnipeg non-profit organization.

“It’s just a fantastic day to bring people together to connect with the community and celebrate the joy of Christmas,” said Tessa Blaikie Whitecloud, Siloam Mission’s CEO.

The lunch went ahead this year despite delays with their mail campaign to request donations. Donors dropped off cheques to get the food to the tables.

“It’s really the generosity of Winnipeggers and donors who make it possible,” Blaikie Whitecloud said.

The faces attending the dinner this year are also changing, with more seniors experiencing homelessness, Blaikie Whitecloud said. High rents and evictions, inflation and even fraud that targets seniors are all factors, she said.

“We don’t want to see them stay in homelessness,” she said. “It’s just really important to figure out how to ramp up to support them.”

A group of people sit at tables eating lunch. — Tessa Blaikie Whitecloud, Siloam Mission’s CEO, says the number of seniors experiencing homelessness this year has increased, and it is important for the organization to ramp up support for them this holiday season. (Rachid Nahli/CBC)

N’diniwemak, Our Relatives Place, a non-profit Indigenous-led shelter in downtown Winnipeg, hosted a donation drive on Friday.

“It is just a great way to kick off the holidays,” executive director Frank Parkes said. “We know Winnipeg is a giving city.”

The organization was accepting different kinds of donations but hoped to get items that are especially needed over the Christmas holidays by people without homes, including warm clothing.

Dozens of organizations and companies, including the Downtown Community Safety Partnership, Community Helpers and the Bear Clan, partnered for the donation drive.

“We’ll make sure that every single item goes where it needs to go,” he said. “We want to bring the community together.”

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