Geraldine Stuber, who is homeless and concerned about the city's vulnerable population, poses for a photo in front of a hub set up at city hall. Stuber is collecting donations for the community's vulnerable population as winter approaches and no plans are yet in place to shelter the homeless following closure of the Mustard Seed's shelter earlier this year.--NEWS PHOTO BRENDAN MILLER
bmiller@medicinehatnews.com
As the city has no plans to shelter Medicine Hat’s most vulnerable community this upcoming winter, homeless Hatters have taken it upon themselves to start collecting donations of food, water, clothing and toiletries in front of city hall to be directly distributed to other individuals facing homelessness.
Geraldine Stuber, who is homeless and concerned about the city’s vulnerable population, has recently set up a hub in front of city hall with a tent to provide people warmth, and has been actively handing out food and water with other members of the homeless community.
Stuber is also hoping to raise awareness of the situation the city’s vulnerable population is facing this winter with the closure of the Mustards Seed’s shelter on Allowance Avenue earlier this year.
“We’ve had lots of people say ‘what’s this all about?’ Most people are very receptive,” said Stuber. “It’s the ones that aren’t receptive that, hopefully they take something from what we’ve told them and think about it out there along their journeys.”
No gains were made in building a new permanent shelter location since the closure of the Mustard Seed as public backlash forced the city to reconsider its intentions for a building on the outskirts of the city.
Stuber and other members of the city’s vulnerable populations are gathering as many donations as possible to help make a small impact as the nights draw longer and colder.
“We have bottled water there, we have awesome community support, people coming in, dropping off a big box of coffee, and next thing you know we have two boxes of coffee and we’ve got doughnuts – and so it ends up being so beautiful,” explained Stuber.
While the News was conducting an interview, Canadian Forces Veteran Wayne Klein Schroth, who lives on the streets in Medicine Hat, was approached by LaVar Payne, president of the Coriano Ridge Unit in Medicine Hat, who had heard about Klein Schroth’s situation and offered a helping hand.
“There’s a veterans group that wants to help out,” Payne said to Klein Schroth. “They’re out of Lethbridge, I’m working with them … so I’ll give you my card.”
The interaction brought tears to the eyes of Klein Schroth, who never imagined becoming homeless after fighting and serving for Canada.
“Being a vet, you should be proud of what you’ve done and everything” he said, with plans to reach out to Payne for help.
“And so this was just a coincidence that happened to see this fellow here and hear that he’s a veteran. So I wanted to come back and see if there’s something we can do to help him,” said Payne.
Stuber says small moments like this motivate her to continue raising awareness and sharing stories with the community.
“They don’t know and it’s not their fault that they’re not aware that we have this community population, and I think that’s what this is about, it shows exactly what needs to happen.”
Items being collected include bottles of water, food products, grocery store gift cards, as well as blankets and toiletries. All items donated at the hub will be directly distributed to local vulnerable individuals. Warm clothing is also being requested.
The hub will be set up in front of city hall until at least Thursday.
