Bearskin Lake First Nations declared a state of emergency on December 29, 2021, due to a rapid outbreak of COVID-19 in the community. The virus spread quickly and as of now, over half of the community's population has tested positive.
Due to the remote location of the community and the severity of the outbreak, community members have been struggling, most families are limited to their homes.
The outbreak has impacted everyone, from leadership and community workers to even the pandemic response team.
In an effort to help alleviate some of the stress from the situation, Rain Harper, Tania Cameron, and Leonard Brown, with support from hundreds of people across North Western Ontario and Canada, have raised a significant amount of money and supplies for the community of Bearskin Lake First Nation.
On December 31, Cameron shared in a post on her Facebook page that she would be collecting donations that would go towards buying groceries and transporting them to the fly-in community.
By the end of the day on January 1, she had accumulated almost $18,000 in community donations. $12,000 was sent to Fresh Market Foods for groceries and the rest was used to purchase air purifiers.
“The community members are really trying to stay isolated, but what if you don’t have food, if you don’t have the supplies you need to be sustainable in your own home,” said Cameron when asked why the community needs help.
During this time, Rain Harper, a young woman from Keewaywin First Nation was also raising funds.
When speaking with KenoraOnline, Harper said “I wanted to make my own donation, but I felt that wasn’t enough so I brought the idea [of a fundraiser] to my mom.”
By January 5, Harper's fundraiser had collected almost $11,000 for the community. Her efforts were noticed by Keewaywin Administration and they committed to matching her funds for a total of over $21,000.
Harper sent the proceeds from her fundraiser to Cameron so that their funds could be pooled.
A GoFundMe page was created on January 5, by Leonard Brown. It was at this time that the Bearskin Lake Crisis started to receive National coverage.
Hundreds of people across the country contributed to the GoFundMe campaign, it even gained the attention of Canadian celebrity, Ryan Reynolds, who donated $5000 to the campaign.
“It was so awesome, we were swooning, and even from that, the ripple effect of donors sending money was amazing,” said Cameron when asked about the GoFundMe donation from Ryan Reynolds.
Brown’s GoFundMe campaign is at over $51,000 as of January 14, 2022.
Community members in Bearskin Lake quickly identified that they were going to have issues heating their homes should the outbreak continue.
Around 90% of the communities' homes are heated by wood but with a growing number of people getting sick, they simply did not have the manpower to source, gather and chop wood in quantities large enough to support all the homes in need.
Cameron purchased a log splitter and it was also added to the supplies going to the community.
Two local stores, Canadian Tire and Home Depot, stepped up and donated $5000 each in gift cards as well.
Cameron commented on the need for more federal support during our interview on January 11, “They need more help on the ground, so I am hoping that Canada will respond shortly and send more people up to help.”
Since talking with Cameron, 5 Canadian Rangers have been deployed to Bearskin Lake but many, including Chief Lefty Kamenawatamin, have said that they appreciate the help, but that it is not enough.
As of January 14, 2022, $54,117.71 was raised from donations made by the community, as well, $5000 in both Canadian Tire and Home Depot gift cards donated by the stores.
Of the money raised, $22,328.00 has been used and those supplies have arrived in the community and $24,800 has been spent on a third shipment that should be on its way to the community today. The remainder of the funds has yet to be allocated.
Cameron confirmed via Facebook that she will be closing her fundraising campaign on Tuesday, January 18 and that she will continue to work to make sure all of the money is spent on things desperately needed by the community.
If you would like to donate, you can find Brown’s GoFundMe campaign HERE.