Show of unity ‘beautiful to see’

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/05/2023 (892 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was an afternoon that boosted Keri King.

Populating True North Square were Bear Clan Patrol patches, reflective jackets and wagons filled with food. Community groups often spread across the city — collecting needles, distributing warm clothes — gathered during the second annual Unity Walk.

“When you’re doing it for a while, you’re like, ‘Ah, not many people want to do it.’ It kind of feels like a lot,” King said. “It’s beautiful to see so many people come together.”

She wore her Thunderbirdz jacket and sat among more than 100 Manitobans devoted to community activism.

Downtown Community Safety Partnership members shared space with Ogijita Pimatiswin Kinamatwin (O.P.K), SABE Peace Walkers and a number of other volunteer grassroots groups.

“People aren’t even aware of how strong the community grassroots, unfunded volunteer movement in Winnipeg is,” said Mitch Bourbonniere, an activist and co-organizer of the event.

The day was, in part, meant to connect the various groups. Volunteers mingled and heard speeches from Bourbonniere and various politicians before walking through downtown Saturday afternoon.

“(We’ll) show the city and the province just how strong volunteerism at the street level is in Winnipeg,” Bourbonniere said. “We literally save lives with Naloxone and (by) pulling people out of very precarious situations.

“We keep people alive in the winter, we search the rivers, we hold vigils.”

The Bear Clan Patrol alone feeds between 600 and 700 people daily at its food distribution hub, said Kevin Walker, the group’s executive director.

A days’ patrol might elicit interactions with 150 or 200 people, Walker said.

“I think… us (groups) working together in unity is only going to make the community stronger,” Walker added.

Mayor Scott Gillingham took a similar stance during his speech to the crowd.

“What you do really, really matters,” Gillingham said. “We need to go from being people in kayaks in the river to one group in a dragon boat, all with our own oar rowing together to tackle the same thing.”

To some volunteers, the work is a calling.

“I feel like that’s one of the missions, the reason why I’m here… I just want to love on people,” said Trevor Hodgson, a member of Thunderbirdz who regularly treks downtown, performing wellness checks and handing out food and water.

For King, it was a sense of duty. She grew up feeling unsafe walking the streets and witnessing violence as a child.

“After a while, you just get sick of it,” King said. “I wanted to be part of something instead of just seeing some cycles repeat over and over.”

Systems meant to help people have often failed some of Winnipeg’s most vulnerable, King added.

“It’s like, ‘OK, if these people aren’t going to help, then we’re going to come together as a community and we’re going to help,’” King said.

Winnipeg could use more housing options, mental health resources and harm reduction offerings, King noted.

The Bear Clan Patrol created the first Unity Walk in 2022. The event will continue every second Saturday of May, Bourbonniere said.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com