An Edmonton woman is helping to provide hundreds of backpacks full of warm clothes and winter supplies to the less fortunate this November.
Jen Hamel founded Warm Hands Warm Hearts seven years ago. It’s an organization that seeks to “help the less fortunate in the inner city, by providing them with a [backpack] of winter essentials” as stated by their website.
The backpacks are filled with items like mitts, toques and scarves and are all provided through local contributions. Donations can be dropped off at eight different locations around Edmonton and will be accepted until Nov. 14.
On Nov. 20, a small group of volunteers led by Hamel will distribute the backpacks out of a rental van along a five kilometer route that passes most of the main shelters in Edmonton’s inner city. All volunteers are fully vaccinated and following the appropriate Covid-19 safety measures.
Over seven years ago Hamel began training for a marathon. Her route took her past the same man every day and she would often see him warming his hands in the exhaust of a building.
Feeling the need to take action she brought him a pair of gloves one day and this is what sparked the creation of Warm Hands Warm Hearts. Since then, Hamel has had the opportunity to provide this same man with some of her organizations’ backpacks. Unfortunately, just last year he passed away from his life on the streets.
Yet, what started as Hamel giving a man a pair of gloves has turned into a growing operation that has donated over 3000 backpacks to the less fortunate.
While Warm Hands Warm Hearts is providing much-needed support to the homeless community, it is only a temporary fix as stated by Hamel in a phone interview.
According to Homeless Hub, an initiative dedicated to looking at “the real cost of homelessness”, around 2000 people in Edmonton were classified as homeless as of 2018. Adding to that, the City of Edmonton website states that over 100, 000 Edmontonians are considered to currently be living in poverty.
When asked about what the local government could do in relation to this issue, Hamel listed lowering costs of living, as well as providing more mental illness and addiction support for those who need it.
Hope Mission is another organization dedicated to providing support to the homeless. The Crisis Aversion Team is one of their primary ways of doing so.
Cole Kauffeldt has been working for this organization since December of last year and his job consists of driving around inner-city Edmonton on a regular basis providing medical attention, emotional support and whatever else he can to those in need.
In a phone interview, Kauffeldt stated that the reduced number of emergency shelters available this year is “frustrating” to front-line workers like himself who see the impacts of this firsthand.
When asked about practical things the general public can do, Kauffeldt felt that breaking the negative stereotypes around the homeless community is a must.
“These people have intricate pasts and are often victims of circumstance,” Kauffeldt said.
Breaking these stereotypes is exactly what Hamel thinks is one of the biggest impacts Warm Hands Warm Hearts has made on her community. By making the call to action for her community as simple as possible, Hamel feels it has helped to change people’s perceptions of who a homeless person is.
“People are so much more than what you see on the outside,” said Hamel.
For more information on how you can participate, visit www.warmhandswarmhearts.ca.