Over the last two winters, Jean Hamel and Peggy Smith have been distributing winter coats and warm clothing to those in need around Quesnel.
Operating out of their St. Laurent Avenue basement office space, the pair of have set up a room full of coats, hoodies, socks, hats, mittens, boots and even toiletries. The winter wear is all over the room, piled on top of tables and all other available surfaces, including a Foosball table and an air hockey game table.
In the front of their office, they have a small area set up with chairs, books and pamphlets. The books and pamphlets are available to be taken away to read and either returned or passed on to someone else, and there is also typically coffee and cookies available for anyone who would like to stick around, warm up and enjoy some quiet conversation.
Last winter, they had about 200 people come through in need of coats or different winter gear, says Smith. The number has been slightly lower so far this year, as the weather started off mild. There has been more traffic through their office since the weather got particularly cold at the end of January.
Hamel and Smith do this as part of their role with the Cariboo Liberty Place Society, which is a registered non-profit charity.
The society was originally started about eight years ago, with the intention of creating a home to help recently-clean members of the community return to Quesnel without falling back into old habits.
Smith says the idea behind the home was to give the people who lived there chores and responsibilities while they adapted to a new lifestyle and broke the cycle of addiction.
Although the home is still a goal, yet to come to fruition, the society wanted to find another way to help the community in the meantime.
Last winter, when they learned that no one in Quesnel would be distributing winter coats that year, they took up the mantle.
“We wanted to do something for our community. So we did,” says Smith.
She says they get a variety of people passing through. Once, it was a family who’d had their trailer stolen and lost almost all their things. Another time, it was a single mom with four kids, all of whom needed a pair of ski pants so they could have the appropriate gear for a school field trip — something they couldn’t attend without the gear. Others come from Season’s House, in need of something warm to wear in the colder winter months.
While Smith and Hamel discuss the history of the society, two men walk in. Hamel escorts them into the back room with all the coats, and one man comes out looking almost entirely different, having opted to leave his old winter clothing behind in favour of something warmer. He takes a seat in the small lobby. The other man leaves with a coat as well.
As of the end of February, approximately 134 people had come by their office, says Hamel. So far, they’ve given out 98 winter coats, 80 pairs of socks, 25 scarves, 66 pairs of mittens, 58 toques, 25 pairs of boots, 13 vests, 12 sweaters, four pairs of ski pants and four hoodies.
All of the garments they receive are cleaned by Super Suds Laundromat (which also accepts donations to be washed and given to the society to distribute).
“The coats are all good; they’re not damaged. They have been gently used, but they don’t need repairs,” says Smith.
And, she adds, if someone is in need of a coat but they don’t currently have one that will fit them, they’ll give them a hoodie or something else warm and tell them that once they have a coat that will fit, they can trade it back for the coat.
“So, we always have a little bit of something for everybody here,” says Smith.
Since they began giving out the coats, there has been a bit of a learning curve. Last winter, they found many people would come in for a coat on a regular basis, and they eventually realized that many of those coats were not being used to keep people warm. They instituted a new rule for his winter: one winter coat per person, per season. Since then, they’ve had very few issues.
The society runs on cash donations (for which they can provide tax receipts) in order to pay their rent and provide a space for those in need.
“The community has been wonderful,” says Smith. “They come in and give all the time … You know, there are a lot of communities who don’t help those in need. But ours is good that way.”
The Cariboo Liberty Place Society is open Tuesdays and Fridays from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays and is located at 331-F St. Laurent Ave.
Heather Norman
Community Reporter
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