As temperatures get colder Samaritan House Ministries is already preparing for the folks and families who frequent their food bank, as well as their safe & warm shelter.
"We've been averaging anywhere between 25-30 people each night," shares Executive Director, Barb McNish. "Our numbers have been steady at the safe and warm shelter. People come in whether it's hot or it's rainy. When it's cold of course we're going to see more, but throughout the summer we saw an average of about 30 people a night."
McNish says in addition to the 41-bed safe & dry shelter they also have a drop-in center, and those numbers have been steady as well, regardless of the sunny or stormy like days. And often before folks come to the shelter, they'll visit the drop-in center first for a sandwich or coffee.
"So, we're just seeing the need all around," she adds.
Knowing what's in store for our Manitoba winters, Samaritan House Ministries collects cold weather accessories like mitts, scarves, and socks. And they've got a number of ladies working on knitting and crocheting to help keep their clients warm.
"We have a group of knitters in Brandon and a few other southern Manitoba communities through a number of seniors' complexes and we're very thankful for them," McNish explains. "They knit for us, and they drop things off and so we're very grateful to them when they bring the nice warm slippers and the touques and the mitts and the hats."
"And this is not only for our safe & warm shelter," she adds, "but also for our other programs, because we can also give out these items through the food bank and other programs, like our literacy programs, who have small children. So, nothing is ever wasted if it's donated to Samaritan House. We always find a way to get it to the people who have that need."