On a day-to-day basis, I see many folks in my community who are unhoused or are experiencing homelessness. My friends and I do what we can to offer food and water, or a friendly face and a chat. This has value as well. Seeing people struggle can be difficult. People might feel badly, awkward or perhaps even scared. Assumptions might be made or stereotypes believed. It can be easier to look away or ignore someone. But what we have found to be true is that the simple act of saying hello, making eye contact and smiling goes much further than one might imagine. It is a connection they probably don’t experience a lot, it’s being seen, it’s validation of belonging and acknowledging a shared humanity.
Beyond these gestures though, people are in need of tangible things such as food, water, and toiletries. We are very grateful to Neighbourhood Small Grants! With the grant I received, my friends and I were able to hand out 67 care packages. We felt it was important to have the community involved and engaged in this, so I sent out emails and flyers for people to join us in putting the packages together. We were set up outside so passersby could join in as well. Included in each package were a sandwich, granola bar, crackers, fruit leather, water, juice box, a pair of socks, toothbrush and toothpaste, an emergency blanket, tissues, wet wipes, a poncho and a note stating “You Matter.”
When offering care packages, it‘s important to do it respectfully and without assumption. We found it best to simply ask if anyone would like some water. People could see there was more than water in the bag and make a decision based on that. We had no expectation of people as to how they “should” respond after receiving the package – we think that’s important say, before sharing how people did in fact respond. People were kind, they were grateful, they were touched and, on occasion, moved to tears. While the items in the packages are useful, we believe a great deal of the gratitude comes from receiving kindness from a stranger.
