Our urban relatives are hurting and need to know they are loved – Grand Chief Daniels
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 7, 2022
ANISHINAABE AND DAKOTA TERRITORY, MB — As the mercury plunges, the Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCO) is launching a campaign to collect warm winter clothing and other essential items for our urban relations experiencing homelessness, housing insecurity, and poverty.
“Our urban relatives experiencing chronic homelessness and poverty face so many barriers, both physically and systemically,” stated SCO Grand Chief Jerry Daniels. “Not only will this clothing drive help provide immediate and lifesaving help to those people, it will also let them know that, despite the societal roadblocks they face, they are also deeply cared about.”
The SCO Donation Drive is being organized partly in response to the results of the 2022 Winnipeg Street Census, which found that Indigenous people are vastly over-represented among people experiencing homelessness in Winnipeg—68 per cent of the people surveyed identified as Indigenous. The census also reveals that nearly 9 out of 10 of Indigenous people experiencing homelessness live outdoors and are unsheltered.
SCO is accepting the following donations:
- Bottled water
- Gloves
- Neck warmers
- Scarves
- Shoes
- Toques
- Track pants for any gender
- NEW underwear for all genders and in all sizes, especially sizes medium, large, and extra-large
- NEW warm socks
- Winter boots
“Being able to meet our most vulnerable citizens where they are and to provide them with a measure of dignity is the immediate goal of this drive,” added Sagkeeng Anicinabe First Nation Chief Derrick Henderson. “In the long term, I hope we will continue to work towards providing essential items and services to all of our relations, during the holiday season and beyond.”
All donated items will be presented to N’Dinawemak: Our Relatives’ Place, which is a warming space at 190 Disraeli in Winnipeg.
Donations can be dropped off at the SCO Winnipeg sub-office at 1572 Dublin Avenue during business hours from Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. Please note, we are closed from 12 to 1 pm.
“I know the people in Winnipeg and in Manitoba are some of the most generous people in the entire country,” concluded Grand Chief Daniels. “I eagerly look forward to experiencing that generosity first-hand with this critical initiative.”
SCO is accepting donations until 4:30 pm on Friday, December 16, 2022.
For more information, please contact us at 204-946-1869.
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The Southern Chiefs’ Organization represents 34 First Nations and more than 83,000 citizens in what is now called southern Manitoba. SCO is an independent political organization that protects, preserves, promotes, and enhances First Nations peoples’ inherent rights, languages, customs, and traditions through the application and implementation of the spirit and intent of the Treaty-making process.
For Media Inquiries:
Email: Media@scoinc.mb.ca
