City homeless outreach group hands out gift bags, hot chocolate

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/12/2023 (678 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Charles Davis grabbed a red and white parcel.

Volunteers peppered him with questions: does he want chocolate or cookies? Perhaps a Tim Hortons gift card, a toque?

“I’ll say Brenda, I spent so much money on you,” he joked, lifting his newfound parcel.

He stood in one of the places he considers himself safest — the Millennium Library. New to the site Sunday were six tinsel-laden wagons, stocked with gifts and treats for people experiencing homelessness.

Urban Wagons, a homeless outreach group, had trucked its wagons downtown for its first Christmas gift-giving spree.

“I’m kind of homeless, myself,” Davis said, eyeing the colourful wagons with excitement.

Brenda, a good friend, lets him stay with her when he’s in trouble, he said. It’s why he wanted to grab her a present: “I can always count on her.”

He took another present, presumably for himself. Meantime, Keila Anobis flitted around, offering warm hot chocolate and gift bags.

“We just wanted the community to feel special and have a gift for themselves,” Urban Wagons’ executive director said.

The volunteer group loads their wagons with food Monday evenings and treks the same path, passing the same markers — the Tim Hortons on Graham Avenue, the former downtown Hudson’s Bay, Portage Place, Air Canada Window Park.

There are regulars on the streets and, regularly, new faces, Anobis noted. During a Sunday last winter, the group fed at least 90 people; they ran out of 90 cups of soup but continued onwards with other food.

Last year, a Winnipeg street census counted more than 1,250 people experiencing homelessness.

Many of the people grabbing Urban Wagons’ items are on the move, hopping between support sites like Siloam Mission and Main Street Project.

“My dream shelter… would have everything all in one place where they can access it,” Anobis said.

More resources, in general, for those experiencing homelessness would be helpful, she noted.

Davis echoed the sentiment.

“We’re lucky right now the weather’s nice,” the 67-year-old said, highlighting that Winnipeg is no stranger to deaths in bus shelters.

“I don’t like seeing people out in bus shacks overnight.”

Davis can’t afford a place of his own; he stays at N’Dinawemak — Our Relatives Place, a warming shelter, he said.

Lisa Sterling was the first to obtain food from Urban Wagons Sunday. She found the volunteers setting up behind the Tim Hortons on Graham Avenue.

She had two asks — gloves and food.

Gloves is Urban Wagons’ most requested item, according to Lisa Morantz, one of the non-profit’s directors.

When asked what could help people experiencing homelessness, Sterling had one answer: affordable housing.

A typical one-bedroom apartment in Winnipeg rented for $1,319 monthly, the latest data from Rentals.ca and Urbanation show.

“The best thing that would help me right now is finding a job,” Jolly Cabigting remarked.

He sat in a bus shelter along Graham Avenue, surrounded by his bags.

“I got laundries to do, and I don’t even have the money to do the laundry,” he stated.

The Toronto transplant said he treks the usual circuit, visiting Siloam Mission and Main Street Project. He wasn’t aware where he could be connected to jobs. In years past, he was a carpenter, he explained.

“I could actually be a big help for somebody,” he said earnestly, adding that he’s on bail. “I’m willing to (work).”

He hasn’t always stayed in shelters, he relayed. It’s something you “have to set your mind” for.

“You’ve got a big adjustment for yourself… hearing people yelling while you’re sleeping, or even while you’re eating,” he said.

Urban Wagons repeatedly sees people who prefer the streets to shelters, Anobis stated.

“(We need) more affordable housing, for sure,” she said, adding she’s heartened by news of more affordable housing units being created.

The City of Winnipeg launched a program last year, Affordable Housing Now, offering tax increment financing grants and capital grants to developers building such spaces.

Anobis and her peers at Urban Wagon had planned their Christmas event for weeks.

In total, the group had 80 presents to give away. Toiletries, winter headwear, jewelry, socks, gloves and $10 Tim Hortons gift cards were interspersed throughout the bags.

The volunteers shuffled along Graham Avenue Sunday afternoon, stopping at bus shacks, offering presents, eggnog, chocolate croissants and pancakes.

“We (were) all very, very excited,” said Morantz, wife of Marty Morantz, MP for Charleswood–St. James–Assiniboia–Headingley.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Business Weekly

Monday Mornings

The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week.

Sign up for Business Weekly

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

Urban Wagons began its outreach in January. It has around 15 regular volunteers and receives food from Community Helpers Unite, which supplies meals to community walks.

Urban Wagons also distributes donated clothing and winter gear.

People who want to volunteer can connect via Urban Wagons’ Facebook page or by showing up to the parking lot behind the Tim Hortons on Graham Avenue at 6 p.m. Mondays, Morantz shared.

The group also serves meals in Air Canada Window Park at 6 p.m. on Fridays, she continued.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com

Gabrielle Piché
Reporter

Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle.

Every piece of reporting Gabrielle produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.