'Such good medicine': Community Care Camp keeps Winnipeg's unsheltered warm

An Indigenous-led initiative seeking to help Winnipeg's unsheltered population stay warm during the coldest days of winter is now running at Thunderbird House.

The Community Care Camp is a teepee set up at the corner of Main Street and Higgins Avenue. The camp is welcoming vulnerable people in out of the cold, offering warm food, clothing, and other supplies for staying toasty.

"Community members can come in and have a cup of tea, have some donuts or bannock, or whatever we have on hand," said Raven Hart, a volunteer at the camp.

"It's a place for people to come in, get warm supplies, get some food in their stomach and also just have a conversation," said River Nepinak-Fontaine, another volunteer.

The camp is a collaboration between Sabe Peacewalkers, End Homelessness Winnipeg, Main Street Project, and Anishiative, a grassroots non-profit led by Anishinaabe youth. Nepinak-Fontaine said they have built a real community over the last few years.

"We'll have the same people come in, you get to know them, you get to get a feel for who they are … that’s when they start to heal, right?"

The teepee will be up for four days at a time during particularly cold streaks in Winnipeg. Next Sunday's forecast calls for -24. Nepinak-Fontaine said it is important to help people who don't have anywhere to go when it gets that cold.

"Unfortunately, we've already had some casualties happen, and the idea is we reduce that," he said.

Hart said the teepee is about helping people feel at home when they don't have one of their own.

"The teepee represents that beautiful home fire. Each teepee pole represents the virtue of having a healthy home, and that’s the foundation of a healthy community," she said.

"When we bring people into the teepee, they reconnect with who they are," added Hart.

The Care Camp is also asking for donations of food, money, and anything else that can help. Hart said the sense of community she feels is beautiful.

"We just want to be really generous because that’s one of our laws we have as indigenous people is that generosity. Such good medicine, feels good."

More information about the Community Care Camp can be found on Facebook.