Firstly, some really great humans! We are an inclusive, indigenous led, 100% volunteer run outreach team. We wear our hearts on our sleeves and we care about the community members that we serve.
Many of the community members that we serve are indigenous. Approximately 60% of the folks that live rough in Edmonton identify as indigenous. Many are battling addictions, mental health issues, trauma, brain injuries, FASD and physical disabilities. Many did not have the privilege of growing up in a "normal" home environment. Folks don't have the privacy of a home to be able to have an emotional melt-down or a bad day. We treat everyone we meet with care and respect.
Wednesday is Sandwich Team. We meet in the west end at 4:30pm and go to approximately 7:30pm. Sandwiches are made with love and community members always look forward to them. This is a family friendly activity with parent or guardians present with all littles.
Thursday is Street Outreach Team. The experienced volunteers meet in the parking lot of Bissell Centre East at 5:30pm to load the wagons. New volunteers arrive at 6pm. We have a quick team meeting/orientation and leave the parking lot to serve community by approximately 6:15. We strive to be back in the parking lot by 9pm. Littles 16 years of age and older are welcome with parent or guardian present. If you drive and would like to attend with littles, they are welcome to stay in the vehicle with you. Support Drivers carry extra supplies with them and stay with the wagon team to load them up with new supplies as necessary. We need volunteers to pull wagons and serve community members, volunteers to help "swamp" and distribute clothing items out of the U-Haul, a driver for the U-Haul, volunteers to meet at the warehouse to help load the U-Haul, volunteers to meet at the warehouse after Street Team to help unload the U-Haul. We also need volunteers that are willing to hand out harm reduction supplies and take First Aid and Naloxone Administration training.
Saturday is Donation Sorting Team. We meet in the west end near the Telus World of Science from 1pm to 4pm. Littles 12 and older are welcome with parent or guardian present. We are sorting through the donations that have come in over the week. We are also looking for volunteers to be "porch drop off" locations. Ideally, you are able to drive the donations to the warehouse when you are full. We are also looking for volunteers that are able to pick up and drop off donations at various locations throughout the city.
Sunday is CARE Team (Care And Respect for Everyone). This is the most physical version of outreach. The team is generally hiking about 5 kilometres carrying backpacks full of supplies to hand out to community members found along the way. The team meets at a different location each week. They are generally patrolling the ravines and park areas in the city. This is a family friendly activity with parent or guardians present.
Water Wing is a summer team that meets according to need. This is a driving outreach team. If you don't drive, there is usually space in someone's vehicle so that you can still attend. When the temperatures get hot, we need to get bottled water out to community members. We carry some snacks and water, distributing to community members that we find along the way.
Facebook is where we do most of our organizing. If you are interested in joining the team, please find the link here;
You will need to answer the question and agree to the group rules to be approved. Please check out the "featured/pinned" posts at the top of the page to find out how to access the Volunteer Hub where you can read the Volunteer Manual, and fill out your Volunteer Registration. If you agree to receive notifications, you get added to our text messaging system for the teams that you have chosen. You will get a text message the same morning as the volunteer event.
If you don't do Facebook (many young people don't now!) This website does have a membership group area. You will need to CONTACT US for the Volunteer Registration link.
If you are a little more tech-savvy, we have a shiny new Discord server;
We love our volunteers. We are thankful for each helping hand that is taking time away from loved ones to serve community. It's not about us, it's about community.
As an indigenous person, it is my duty and responsibility to make sure that our most vulnerable are cared for, that's what a warrior does. I'm not in it for the hero badges or accolades, I am here to serve community. Zero ego.
If this is you, we would sure like to meet you.
Please note that you don't need to be indigenous to join the team, we welcome all. <3
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