Making winter bags to help the homeless

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This article was published 02/12/2016 (3405 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Members of a local church are spearheading a project to help fight homelessness on the streets of St. Boniface.

Congregation members at the Windsor Park-based Prince of Peace Lutheran Church (930 Winakwa Rd.) recently approached St. Boniface Street Links and Morberg House to ask how they can help out the cause.

“They asked us to prepare what we call winter bags for the chronically-homeless people that are living on the streets and under the bridges in St. Boniface,” said key organizer Lise Schwark, a member of the church’s social ministry committee who approached committee members with the idea for the new initiative.

 
Organizers are currently accepting donations of items including sleeping bags, blankets, boots, socks, long underwear, sweatpants, sweaters, hooded sweaters, jackets, mitts, scarves and toques, as well as toiletries such as facecloths, toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap and shampoo. Some individuals are also making fleece blankets.

“It’s important for us to be able to help these organizations,” added Schwark, who lives in Windsor Park, noting organizers will be accepting donations until the spring.

“We want to keep it going into the new year, as it’s very much a winter thing and the goal is to keep people on the street warm.”

According to its website, the mission of St. Boniface Street Links is to work to end homelessness, reduce poverty and support crime prevention through social development as a best practice for successful community development.

One of the initiatives of the grassroots, non-profit organization is Morberg House at 311 Provencher Blvd., which opened in August, that provides a place for individuals to call home and get the help they need to access services and transition into regular housing, Schwark said. Go online at stbonifacestreetlinks.com for more information.

Schwark said Prince of Peace sent a letter to several other churches in the area that it partners with for World Day of Prayer inviting them to help with the project. Organizers have also asked the three other churches that rent space at 930 Winakwa Rd. to help out.

Item donations can be dropped off at the church on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons between 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. and Sundays from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Alternatively, individuals can call the church at 204-256-8712 to make other arrangements.

simon.fuller@canstarnews.com

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