For years now the Calgary Helping Homeless Community has been serving Calgary's food insecure population for years. Offering food, clothing and groceries as a way to help out the people in their community.
A group of good Samaritans living in the Calgary area have taken it upon themselves to work together to help the city’s food-insecure population. An effort they’ve largely achieved by organizing themselves over Facebook.
The Calgary Helping Homeless Society (YYCHH) has been working together with charitable businesses and everyday people to deliver warm meals, groceries and clothing to vulnerable communities.
The Facebook group with over 4,400 thousand members has been active since 2015, delivering aid to the homeless population in the downtown Calgary area.
“We first started this because we have family that have suffered from food insecurity,” said YYCHH administrator Mary Prasad. “It does hit some tender spots, so we just keep on giving back year after year, so it’s kind of a passion for us”.
Goals and Motivations
In doing so they aim to unite the community by demonstrating compassion for an often forgotten population. Additionally, they seek to dispel myths and raise awareness of the problems associated with homelessness.
A typical session included a hectic setup from within a venue, with volunteers hauling large crates of food, clothes and homecooked meals into the church. I was taken aback by the amount of prep work that went into feeding people for one day.
“We are not paid, we come here because we have a passion and want to do it, and would love to be able to give back to others,” said Prasad. A sentiment that became more evident as I witnessed the connection between two different groups in the same community.
How you can get involved
The YYCHH uses social media to mobilize and even recruit its volunteer staff. That means that a majority of the information required to contribute is listed on their Facebook page. Simply contact the administrators and they’ll try to find a way for you to contribute. According to Prasad, they are in desperate need of
- Truck drivers to deliver food
- Participating restaurants to donate meals
- Volunteers to distribute food
- Volunteers to donate groceries and essentials
If you are looking to give your time or make a much-needed donation, come out to volunteer your time. Tackling homelessness requires a multi-faceted approach, with the combined efforts of governments and good Samaritans to foster a society where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. After all, it takes a village.
Reflection
Definitely, this project was a refinement of what I had learned so far in my last few years in the program. I went into this exchange of services a lot more confident than my last few. During last year’s project I wasn’t the best at communicating with the client or managing expectations, but this year I feel a lot more confident in my ability to pursue a client and meet their needs.
The biggest challenge I faced in regard to this interview was the filming this time around. I pushed myself to use the C100 cameras, which combined with the hectic location of a downtown Calgary church led to some less-than-stellar results. The camera basically had to be on automatic settings for the entire duration of the shoot, as I had no time to readjust settings during such a hectic event. There was also the fear that a potential mishap may happen with the equipment, in the back of my mind these cameras were as delicate as a newborn baby. In this camera-induced paranoia, I feel I missed a lot of opportunities to capture more endearing footage as I was hugging the wall and holding the camera to my chest. I am especially displeased with myself for accidentally not recording footage of a client because I was so concerned with not interfering too much in the events.
Luckily none of my fears came true and I was able to have enlightening conversations with clients and staff who were all friendly. Leading me to believe that just like with the Z-150 this new camera is something that takes time to get used to. If I ever get the opportunity I would love to come and work with YYCHH again.
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