Mission four bags full.
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.
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)
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.
December 20th, 2008 at 19:15
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.
December 20th, 2008 at 19:34
You guys are amazing.
December 20th, 2008 at 20:14
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.
December 20th, 2008 at 20:22
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!
December 20th, 2008 at 20:50
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)!
December 20th, 2008 at 21:25
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.
December 20th, 2008 at 21:37
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.
December 20th, 2008 at 21:54
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!
December 21st, 2008 at 01:31
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.
December 21st, 2008 at 01:39
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
December 21st, 2008 at 17:09
[...] One man’s mission [GusGreeper] [...]
December 21st, 2008 at 20:10
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!
December 22nd, 2008 at 12:57
That is so nice of you – damn girl – you’re a good person.
December 22nd, 2008 at 16:38
Well done matey, you guys are awesome. xoxox
January 11th, 2009 at 22:11
Kudos to you. Very thoughtful … I think we all need to do more of this sort of thing more often.
January 16th, 2010 at 13:51
Nice one, couldnt agree more
January 22nd, 2010 at 03:58
[...] There’s no Vancouver Tweetup Heatup this year, so this is your best chance to make a difference in the depths of winter. [...]