By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

Pair of clothing drives shining a light on homelessness

Nov 23, 2018 | 9:24 PM

The organizers behind a pair of clothing drives are hoping their efforts will shed light on Red Deer’s homeless population and the struggles faced by people living on the streets.

The first was conducted by a group of five social work students currently working towards their diplomas at Red Deer College. Though they collected other items, the students’ aim was to collect as many pairs of boots as possible for The Mustard Seed.

Nicole Dube, the group’s spokesperson, says not that there shouldn’t be help for homeless people in the warmer months, but it’s especially important to be giving during the holidays.

“There’s definitely a mixed response (to homeless people). I would say being that Christmas is coming, it’s been a warmer response than at different times of the year,” Dube says.

“The amount of beds that are open for the homeless is not at all equal to the amount of homeless that there are in Red Deer. We want to keep Red Deer’s homeless safe for the winter, and yes they did open the warming centre for the day, but it’s much colder at night. Besides Turning Point, The Mustard Seed, and Safe Harbour that always help them, they kind of fall to the wayside and people forget.”

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Items the group collected in Eckville and Sylvan Lake are staying in those communities.

Meanwhile, University of Calgary students taking social work classes at RDC have wrapped up a clothing drive of their own.

On Friday night, the group expects to place hundreds of items, including scarves, gloves and toques, in Red Deer’s downtown area. The items, which will all be tagged, are likely to be found attached to trees, bushes or lamp posts, and are strictly for those living out in the cold.

RDC graduate and current U of C social work degree student Zeljka Udovicic says the second annual event is part of the group’s social action class.

“I picked up donations from the college and it is a lot, maybe 150 or 200 items. This is just what I collected. Other students are collecting too. There are 24 of us,” Udovicic says.

“We want to bring attention to the issue of homelessness, but also to engage community to be active in social issues. It could be more engaged, but with what I collected today, I’m really overwhelmed with the response. There should be more awareness and social movements like this so that the community will be more engaged.”

Any extra items they collect, especially bigger ones like jackets, pants and shoes, will be donated to Safe Harbour.

Red Deer latest Point in Time homeless count, which was conducted in April, tallied 144 homeless.