Mission four bags full.

Published on December 20, 2008 by Corinna Carlson | 15 Comments

To put it bluntly our city is in a state of crisis right now. A serious problem we as citizens already face has turned deadlier than usual.  We’re experiencing record low temperatures not felt here since the 1950s.  A homeless woman well known in the area we live in died setting herself on fire trying to stay warm yesterday morning.

Take a look at this ice on our window if you need any convincing that it is genuinely cold. I understand that this is a very transient city, that to a lot of people that live here this is not really considered cold but at a time like this that is irrelevant for Vancouver this is cold and it is supposed to get colder.

inside the window.

We spent most of today gathering everything we could from the apartment and storage and then Adam hit the East Side and handed it all out [check the comments for his experience]. I wanted to go help because he took quite the load but I was already getting emotional and didn’t feel it was appropriate to be out there crying away when I have a roof over my head.  I realized after reading this message from our mayor posted by the Georgia Straight that we could have given more today and Adam will be heading back out tomorrow with various toiletries.  So far from a home with one income we gave the following straight to the people:

1 fleece vest
1 down vest
7 fleece and/or wool sweaters
3 jackets (2 wool, 1 insulated)
10 long sleeve shirts
7 pairs of pants
2 pairs of hiking boots
9 toques
1 scarf
1 pair of wool slippers
2 pairs of gloves
4 teddy bears
3 candles
3 wool blankets
3 sports bags & 1 garment bag (b/c many shelters are not allowing the homeless in with their carts)

mission four bags full.

If you are looking for ways to help it can be as simple as keeping this list of homeless shelters handy, it details where individuals with carts and pets are being accepted as well as women only and teen only places for extra safety.

Many of the city’s bloggers are taking part in Phones for Fearless:

Donate your old mobile phones to help Down Town East Side artists share stories, and tap into life, jobs & family

This is about more than the cold.  If you live here and you are reading this and you have yet to get involved with one of our community’s biggest issues, now’s your chance.

  • Jim

    Nice one, couldnt agree more

  • http://www.sockmonkey75.blogspot.com crissy

    Kudos to you. Very thoughtful … I think we all need to do more of this sort of thing more often.

  • http://fortheloveofrocks.blogspot.com maja

    Well done matey, you guys are awesome. xoxox

  • Liz Grady

    That is so nice of you – damn girl – you’re a good person.

  • http://tawcan.wordpress.com Tawcan

    I was shocked to hear about the homeless lady… such a sad story.

    Thank you for doing this. I just recently dropped off my food donation at the food bank…all 33 non-perishable items!

  • http://www.tgifhounds.com Ben

    I just heard from a friend tonight who’s up in Seattle and the shit that’s going on there is pretty scary as well. He’s not loving life to say the least.

    I always knew you guys were damn good eggs.

    Stay warm and Canadian Tough.

    Cheers

  • http://raincoaster.com raincoaster

    Thanks so much for posting this; I know everyone at FearlessCity appreciates it. One of the things most people don’t know about donated cellphones is, they can be used to call 911 even if there is no money in the account and no calling plan. It’s a safety feature that saves lives every day.

  • http://hummingbird604.com Raul

    Dear Corinna and Adam,

    I’m in Calgary so I can’t hug you both but you know I absolutely think you ROCK! Thanks SO much for contributing and making people’s lives better (mine included). I am very proud of being your friend, for many reasons, but this one just is absolute icing on the cake!

  • Rhonda

    Awesome guys! I wish I could remember the website that had this jacket for the homeless with pockets inside to stuff newspaper in. It is freaking cold here too but dry so I can handle it, I don’t go outside either….I knew all those beaver pelts would come in handy.

  • http://badnewsblonde.blogspot.com aughra

    You guys are the best. You fucking rule.

    I want to make sweet love to both of you. No, nevermind, not ABC, I’ve been creeping him out with that.

  • http://www.miss604.com Rebecca

    Awesome contribution. We loaded up a car a few months ago so I wish I had more to donate – I think we still have about 2 small bags of clothing and shoes though. I also donated the remaining prizes from the Best of 604 to Covenant House (toothbrush travel kits and other personal care items) – all of these things help – (even the jock, I’m sure)!

  • http://gusgreeper.com gusgreeper

    i realized today that even though we are constantly putting clothes and things in the alley it is normally in the spring, fall and summer – the winter stuff we did have had been piling up year after year, i bet we aren’t alone on that one!

  • marilee

    thanks for doing your part. everyone in vancouver needs to help. if everyone in vancouver chipped in a little, the winter wouldn’t be as tough for those in need. you guys are great citizens.

  • Jen

    You guys are amazing.

  • http://gusgreeper.com abc4

    dont forget the jockstrap. it sounds crazy, but i know a guy who wears chains for protection against stabbings. a cup might be handy. it saved my testes once or twice. you dont realize how important that little piece of equipment is until you forget to bring it to a game and have to play without it. all joking aside if it makes somebody feel safer its a good score. i didnt know where to start, i knew i would miss people depending which route i took. my goal was vague; to walk around till all the goods were gone, then get the fork out of the cold. i trolled granville first and unloaded a bunch of girls clothes and a couple of the bears, before i left the dude who took the old ladys old helly hansen coat for his old lady insisted i have a tokeroo. i headed for gastown and powell then up cordova, most of the homeys through there had blankets and gloves. the folks in the white vans were handing out food at Oppenheimer park but it didnt look like they had too many clothes so i walked up to the line and doled out what we had left.
    everybody looks freezing cold. but theyre holding it together. so hope is still here. which is good.