Earlier this year we began planning this raffle in hopes of being able to garner enough success out of this raffle to sustain both organizations for a month or more.
By providing something as simple as #Groceries to a family, #PetFood to a #Family, We are taking away a #Major#Stressor & a major source of conflict because #People don’t have to worry about where their #NextMeal is going to come from. Or how they are going to feed their pets.
**WARNING TRIGGERS** (I HAVE PERMISSION TO SHARE STORY)
Today was stressful & hard. It was emotional. I broke down in tears along side my volunteers & a young mother of two, who felt like her world was ending. She wanted to save her children from what she's had to endure.
She didn't want to end up a statistic. She chose to leave a volatile living situation & move to a safe place where she began the process of living for herself & living for her children.
She chose life not abuse. She chose her kids over her partner. She chose smiles over tears.
She told all of us that she had been planning for over a year to leave & was on the verge of leaving when #Covid19AB happened.
She was scared/afraid/had panic attacks not knowing how to help herself let alone her children. Then she saw us on @GlobalCalgary with @global_leslie.
This is very hard for us to write. But we feel we have no other choice due to us seeing the massive amount of requests that we are getting daily for both Humans and Pets.
Here is what has happened as of late:
This past weekend alone, we had over 30 emergency requests from individuals & families fleeing domestic violence. Many leaving with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
We were able to help about 17 of these individuals find shelter and lodging via referrals to other groups.
The other 13 individuals are being helped by our awesome volunteers. We are tracking down emergency funding and helping them apply for help through various organizations here in #Calgary.
We will be assisting them and their families in hopes of helping them feel safe once again.
We need your help. When people contact us they have already exhausted each and every possible option for assistance and they NEED HELP NOW!
I have been given permission to share some info from the AISH Clients asking us for #Help
I have had 5 calls just this afternoon/evening from AISH clients who did not receive #AISH & have been frantically get ahold of their respective workers or even get a return phone call from the intake worker on call. #Help
Client 1: Elderly gentleman with a walker and mobility issues. Is unable to go to the foodbank or travel due to medical issues. Has special dietary needs but AISH has cut off some of his benefits. NEEDS A SMALL FOOD HAMPER
We were able to fill an additional 2 hampers on our list. We only have 4 hampers left to fill!
If we can raise funds to deliver the hampers tonight or first thing in the morning, we will be able to give everyone currently on our list a #thanksgivingCanada
I have been sitting here at my computer here for the past half hour deciding whether or not I wanted to post about what me and a few members of my team experienced today.
I was out shopping for our food hampers, when my phone rang.
Before I go on....I want to make it clear that Harvest Hills Cares Calgary's Phone will always be answered. The only time it won't be is if we are in a meeting or driving.
I answered the phone...It was a mom of 4 that was told by her worker to come down to the AB Works office to turn in her 90 days of bank statements...& that if she didn't bring them down by the end of the day she would not get her check until Tuesday of next week.