It's the First day of Lent today and if you celebrate the season Steinbach Community Outreach is challenging people who choose to do a fast for Lent to find a way to pay it forward.

Here are some examples of how this can work.
          Coffee - If a person decides to give up coffee during lent pay it forward by donating the tin of coffee to Outreach! Or take the money you would have spent on your daily Tim Hortons/Starbucks order and donate it to Outreach!
         Sweets - Giving up sweets?  No problem.  Donate your baking to Outreach and we will put out a tray at our coffee station; or donate any money you would have spent on pop or goodies to Outreach!
          Social Media - take the moment you would have spent on social media and send up a prayer for Outreach and the people we serve instead!

If you are not doing the social media fast  tag @steinbachcommunityoutreach and use the #FastItForward on Instagram.

We invite you to join us in taking on the #FastitForward challenge!  Your small sacrifice can make a big difference in the lives of our guests here at Outreach!

This morning the streets were packed with snow so high my car could barely make it down the road, but working from home wasn't an option. While schools were shut down and the radio host was encouraging those who were able to stay off the roads to do so, our guests depend on our doors being unlocked on days like today. 

Not long after we arrived our first guest walked in through the doors.  He'd been out all night, walking around to stay warm. He'd lost his mitts and his beard was covered with frost.  He was utterly exhausted.
He made a beeline for the coffee station and helped himself to a steaming mug of black coffee which he used to warm his hands more so than to drink. He sat down on one of our chairs and we asked him if he wanted some breakfast.  He was so tired he said he couldn't even think about eating. He just wanted to go straight to sleep.  I don't think he'd even taken two sips of his coffee before he fell asleep on one of the couches in our back room.  It was 3:30 when he finally woke up.

A few weeks ago, just after New Years we had a wicked cold snap. One night it dropped to -49. When I arrived at the the drop in center I swung the door open and found a man on his knees in the entrance cradling his hands. He said he was alright and would be up in a minute. I was working at my desk in my office before he finally made it up the stairs but I noticed him sit on the couch near our office doors and saw a volunteer bring him a cup of coffee. A few minutes later I heard the sound of water pouring but it didn't really register until I saw a couple of volunteers quietly bustling around him. What I'd heard was his coffee slowly spilling on the floor as the cup tipped in his hand while he fell asleep.  The volunteers quietly shifted him into Myra's office where he slept on the couch for the next several hours and mopped up the spill. When he woke up he set up camp in the corner of Myra's office and would pop out occasionally for food or to change his clothes.

90% of the people we help have homes so the few that do come in half frozen and frostbitten really stand out. It's heartbreaking to see people in situations like that, but we are grateful to be able to offer them a space where they can warm up, have some hot food and coffee and get some much needed help.

There are some people in this world who just don't have anybody they can rely on for support. They have nobody they can call for a ride to their appointment in Winnipeg or Winkler or even as close as Ste. Anne. No one who can help them figure out pre op protocols for day surgeries, remind them to take their meds, prepare them a smoothie after chemo or help them change the dressing on their wounds. Over the last year we have become the caregivers for several people like this.  They just simply have no one else. Normally we'd connect with that person's church to see if the deacons could support this person in some way.  But what if they don't belong to a church? We'd also phone family and see if they can offer any support. But what if they are estranged from their family, live away from their family, or simply don't have any family?

One such lady came into Outreach looking for help about a year ago.  She was referred to us through cancer care who recognized she was struggling. She was dealing with trauma at the same time she was dealing with cancer which made thing difficult for her. She was divorced and her children live out of province. She had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, was rapidly losing her eyesight and had to give up working. She needed help finding an affordable place to live on a meager budget and just over all help figuring out how to survive on a very low income. She is a very proud woman and it was extremely difficult for her to come in and ask for help, but she realized she could not survive the way she was currently living.  Up until now she had been s upporting her elderly mother who lived about an hour away, but recognized that she just could not do it all on her own anymore.

As we worked with her to find her an apartment it became clear she needed help getting to her specialist appointments and chemo because she was not able to drive anymore, so we offered to bring her. Our volunteers started dropping off smoothies and soup at her place, started taking her to run errands every once in a while and picked up her daughters from the airport when they came to visit. Because her apartment was not big enough to have her daughter's stay there while they visited we put them up in our transitional apartment for the duration of their stay. We helped her arrange to donate her car to a worthy cause and a very kind neighbour offered to carry her garbage to the bin for her if she would just leave the bag beside her door.  Towards the end we checked in on her several times a week, and we  were prepared to help her make arrangements for palliative care when the time would come. She also had a couple of very good friend who would visit her regularly, help her run errands and be there for her as much as they could in whatever way they could be.

Unfortunately a few days ago she was admitted to the hospital with liver failure. She passed away last night with her friend by her side and her daughter connected through social media. She was a very kind soul and we will miss her dearly.

Every person deserves to live their life with dignity.  We are able to do so by the support of our friends and family around us. I would encourage you to take a look at the people in your life who help you to do this and give them a brief thank you. It takes a village to care for our loved ones.

Hello SCO supporters!  We'd like to invite you to participate in our first ever Amazing "Car" Race!
This is going to be a super fun fundraiser that gives the participant a little taste of what it's like for someone who lives out of their car.
The race will start on October 1 at 6:30pm.  Starting point is at 345 Loewen Blvd, west side parking lot.
There are two ways to play.  The family friendly race ends at 11pm so if you are participating as a family group and do not want to spend the night sleeping in your car with youngsters you can still join in the fun!  The hardcore race ends at 6am the next morning.  You will be sleeping in your car!

Here's how it works:
The race is set up similar to the Amazing Race.  There are stations spread out across Steinbach and challenges to complete along the way to each station.

1. Partner with someone or put a team together.  You can play as an individual too if you like.  Encourage your friends, family and co workers to put a team together to play.

2. Call Charlene at 204-380-2692 or stop by Steinbach Community Outreach at 345 Loewen Blvd. Monday to Friday 9 - 4 to pick up your pledge sheet.

3. Collect pledges during the month of September in support of Steinbach Community Outreach.  Whether you go door to door or bug your family, friends and coworkers... encourage your friends and neighbors to donate!  We will issue a tax receipt for anything over $20.

4. The race is on October 1, 2021 Meet at 345 Loewen Blvd in the west side parking lot at 6:30pm to hand in your pledges and collect your scorecard.

5.  7pm:  Ready, set, go! There will be 3 stations.  You will have 45 minutes to get to the next station.  On the way to the next station you will be given a challenge to complete.  These challenges are based on overcoming barriers our clients face every day.  They are designed to put you in the shoes of a person who is homeless and is living out of their car.  The person or team who collects the most points wins the race!

How to collect points
First team to reach the station                                        100pts
Second team to reach the station                                  75pts
Third team to reach the station                                      50pts
If you complete the challenge between stations         100pts
If you have a child under 18 with you for the night     100pts
If you don't turn on your car at night                             100pts

6.  The family friendly race will end at 11pm when winners will be announced.  The hardcore racers will continue on until 6am the next morning when those winners will be announced.
For each race there will be prizes for the most points collected, the highest amount in dollars of pledges collected, the youngest person to participate and the oldest person to participate.

We would love to see as many people as possible participate either by running in the race or by pledging their support for someone in the race!  Please join us in this amazing event!

Hey Folks!  We are super excited to be the recipients of the Taste of Summer Charity BBQ today.  Come on down to the corner of Main and Lumber to show your support for the work we do at Steinbach Community Outreach.  You'll get a lunch and all funds raised will support the programs we run here at Outreach like helping people find housing, running Today House the homeless shelter, handing out food and hygiene hampers and any other support people may need.
​See you there! 

Several weeks ago we had 4 or 5 calls in the same day about a particular person in the hospital area.  Hilda, one of our advocates who was on call, went out to see if she could find him and see what we could do.

Randy's story begins in Alberta. (not his real name) We know that Randy got a ride from a well meaning lady who was travelling from the west back home to Manitoba.  It's unclear how these two connected or what Randy's motivations were for coming to Manitoba, but we do know he arrived with no ID and only the clothes on his back. With his medications not readily accessible Randy eventually found himself first at the Ste. Anne Hospital, and then the hospital in Steinbach. When his condition stabilized he was released. With no where to turn he set up camp in front of the hospital.

We often get calls about people who are strangers who are stranded in Steinbach.  When someone in unfortunate circumstances finds their way into town the easy thing to do is bring them to Winnipeg and drop them off at one of the shelters there.  However at Outreach there's quite a process when we help  stranded strangers. It's a process that can take anywhere from one afternoon to several weeks so we can ensure we are helping this person in the best way possible. The most important question in this process is "What do you want to happen and how can we help make that happen?" 

After a lengthy conversation with Randy he said he would return to his friend's house, which was quite a ways out of town; the woman who had brought him here.  Hilda tried to phone the friend multiple times but got no answer so he said he would go anyway and maybe by the time he got there she would be home.  Hilda also brought Randy some food, paid for his meds and called a cab to bring him back to his friend's place.

A couple of days later we had several calls again about Randy.  His friend had not let him stay so he had made his way back to town and was again camped in front of the hospital. Again we sat down with him and discussed various options.  He had spent a couple of nights in the hospital but was now sleeping rough so a plan was made to try Main Street Project. He was able to crash at someone's house that night and Irene drove him to Winnipeg the next morning.  Randy found Main Street Project overwhelming so he phoned the friend who had brought him to Manitoba and she came and picked him up and dropped him back in Steinbach.

Once again we had calls about Randy.  This was a gentleman who was truly stranded in a way that we had never seen anyone stranded before. He was getting good care at the hospital, but had nowhere to turn on his release.  We continued to try connecting with friends and family, including the woman who had brought him to Manitoba and finally connected with his sister.  He desperately wanted to get back to Alberta but with Covid travel restrictions and no ID, getting him there seemed nearly impossible.

In Randy's case he had a sister that was willing to pay for a plane ticket or bus ticket to get him home, but Randy had no ID and we do not have connections in Alberta to get copies of his ID.  We also know from experience that it takes up to 6 months to get new copies of ID for people.  Getting on a bus or plane without ID is not possible so that was not an option for Randy.

Picking someone up from afar and dropping them in Steinbach may seem like a good and helpful thing to do, because we have a very generous city, but often it does more harm than good.  It takes them away from resources they are already familiar with, like what day of the week the store tosses their expired food out, and the bank teller that recognizes him because he already lost his debit card 20 times this year and knows how to help him, or which restaurant will give him a free cup of coffee on a rainy day. He had really good benefits set up with EIA in Alberta to support him, but here in Manitoba he could not access those funds.

We had a team of 6 people coming up with ideas and options with Randy but there was really only one option that was viable.  To get him back to his sister in Alberta where his resources and support system were.  But how if you can't get on a bus or a plane? It wouldn't be responsible to send someone hitchhiking in the middle of a pandemic and even if he did want to hitchhike we doubted he would survive that journey.  There was only one thing to do. We would have to drive him.
Let me be clear here.  We are a local charity serving only Steinbach and surrounding areas.  The farthest we go is Winnipeg and then only if circumstances require it and if no other arrangements can be made.  We are not a bus service that transports people inter-provincially.  So, after several more days of making arrangements and checking restrictions, Irene and Tammy, our most experienced advocates, volunteered their time on a weekend and use of their own vehicle, in the middle of a pandemic when travel restrictions were at their tightest, to drive Randy back.  This is WAY above and beyond what we expect from our volunteers but it goes to show the level of dedication and commitment of our staff, and the amount of time and energy it takes to help a stranger who gets stranded on the streets in Steinbach, to a place where they feel supported both physically and mentally.

While most of us are gearing up for summer, we here at SCO are also thinking towards the fall.  As with many organizations we don't know what post pandemic programming will look like, but we are anticipating a greater need and hope to expand our drop in center hours.
If you are interested in joining a dynamic, committed team of volunteers we would love to chat with you. We are looking for people to help out at our drop in center handing out food and hygiene hampers, sorting through donations and connecting with our guests.  If you can spare a couple of hours a week just fill out a form or send us an email at steinbachoutreach@gmail.com and we will connect with you over the next couple of weeks.
We look forward to meeting you!

It's stinkin' hot outside these days folks!
Whenever we get extreme temperatures we get people coming in looking for a place to hang out and cool off.  At first we weren't sure how we would manage to accommodate this, with covid restrictions limiting the amount of people we can have in our space, so we were very pleased when we heard the most recent restrictions made exceptions for drop in centers to become cooling centers for people who are street involved.  We are also able to hand out bottles of water. Hooray! As long as our guests are able to stay 6 feet apart they can come in, cool off and rehydrate. 
As a drop in center we are one of the few places allowed to be open right now.  Restaurants are closed to people sitting inside, same with the library.  So on a hot day we get quite a few people popping in to cool off, use the wifi, and often sleep on one of our couches, because it's exhausting wandering the streets when it's +35 out there.  And every time someone comes in they ask for water.  So if anyone has any water bottles they can donate we would love to accept them and pass them out to the people who come in to use our drop in center as a place to cool off.
A case of water bottles only costs $2 to $3 dollars.  If you are able to add a case to your grocery shop this week and drop it off at 345 Loewen Blvd, (blue doors on the west side of the building) that would be fantastic! Our guests would certainly appreciate it.
The majority of our guests have to walk everywhere they go, so by the time they get to Outreach to get help with whatever they need help with, or to pick up their food, they are hot and parched from the long walk over.  We actually go through quite a few water bottles every day trying to keep people cool and safe.
So if you have any bottled water you can spare, we would love to pass it on to our guests.

 Calling all gardeners!  As you plant your garden this year consider planting a row with the intention of  donating whatever grows in that row to charity.  Designate one row as the SCO row and whatever goodies grow there, donate to Outreach this fall. Your $2 packet of seeds combined with a little bit of dirty knees and mud under your fingernails would really mean a lot to a family who doesn't otherwise have access to fresh fruits and vegetables.  

If you are planting with us in mind here's a list of our guests favorite garden veggies:

• potatoes
• corn on the cob
• carrots
• onions
• peas
• beans
• tomatoes
• lettuce
• berries - any kind of berries if you have extra!

We will accept any extra garden produce you have and pass them on to our guests in need.
The majority of our guests live in apartments and don't have garden space available to them. Yet everyone loves to snack on fresh vegetables when they can get their hands on them.  Because who doesn't love to participate in the abundance of a fall harvest?

Also, if you are clearing out last years produce and canned goods from your freezer and pantry shelves to make room for this year's harvest we will happily accept these goods as well.  Our guests love jams and preserves and our cooks use frozen veggies in the casseroles and soups they cook up for the people we serve.

So join us at the harvest table and help us fill the horn of plenty that we might share your abundant harvest with people in need.