Members of the "Compassionate Committee for the Homeless in North Bay" are producing "Backpacks of Love" filled with donated essential items.
The Compassionate Committee for the homeless of North Bay is a conduit between existing support services and organizations that address the immediate needs of the near homeless and homeless, and the various church parishes and congregations, according to the group's Facebook page.
The committee is made up of the faithful from churches primarily in North Bay’s downtown, who have joined together to address the immediate needs of the homeless.
"As a committee, we researched what services the churches already offer, asked existing support services and organizations what gaps they feel need filling to address the immediate needs of the homeless, established a year-long strategic plan based on the identified needs (i.e. blankets in the winter, tents in the summer), and educated the various church parishes/congregations as to the needs of the homeless through the Good Samaritan Corner in each of the churches’ bulletins, and encouraged them to support existing services and organizations through donations of clothing etc., monies and/or volunteering," says Leah Pierce, Chairperson.
"Ultimately, the goal is to find permanent housing for the 293 individuals that were counted as homeless in March 2020," she explains. "We understand that to accomplish this goal we need to research existing successful models that address homelessness such as Built for Zero Canada and the Suswin Village Project developed from the Suswin Navigator Support Program, provided by the North Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre. As well, to seek social justice, we will engage with community leadership. For instance, we have invited the chair of the District of Nipissing Social Services Administration Board to address the long-term needs of the homeless in North Bay, explain what we have found out through our research, and outline what models we think work best to address the homelessness crisis in North Bay."
The Backpacks of Love campaign is the result of consultation with existing support services and organizations.
The first drop off event will take place at the New Apostolic Church at 46 Joseph St. tomorrow (Saturday) June 26 from 1 to 3 p.m.
"We need the community of North Bay’s generosity to reach our goal of 200 backpacks," says Pierce.
