There’s always another place at the table at Carmichael Outreach

By Carmen Pauls Orthner, Editor

Are you hungry? Lonely? Tired? Come on in.

Escaped from an abusive relationship with only the clothes on your back? Newly arrived in Canada, only to find your apartment has no furniture, or even a mattress? Living rough and needing a place to wash up? Come on in.

Feeling afraid, embarrassed, frustrated, unheard, uncared for? In need of a safe place, one where you’re offered both supportive shoulders and listening ears? Then, please, come on in – when you come to Carmichael Outreach, you are welcome.

Carmichael Outreach’s director of development, Chrysta Garner, remembers exactly what it feels like to be the person standing on the outside, wishing someone would open a door and offer a helping hand. In 2019, she had left a violent marriage, escaping with only her kids, her car, and the clothes they were wearing – and she had nowhere to turn.

“I had no idea what resources were out there, and no one would tell me,” Chrysta remembers. “I finally got up the courage to walk out that door, and then I was told, ‘Oh, here’s another barrier, here’s another barrier,’ so that was quite hard for me.“

“Each organization has their own rules and regulations, but the issue was not understanding them – and because you’re also in crisis mode, you’re not thinking the best. I wish that I would have known of a place like Carmichael. Once I joined Carmichael as a staff member, I saw that there are absolutely no gaps we don’t fill. It took me back, and I’m going, ‘Wow, they’ve thought of everything. They’ve truly thought of everything.”

While Carmichael is best known for offering free weekday lunches for houseless people in downtown Regina, the organization’s mandate and services actually go far beyond that. In addition to people already living on the streets or housed but just scraping by, a growing number of newcomers to Canada – especially refugees – are finding their way to Carmichael.

“They’re promised this better life, and then they’re put in an apartment and it’s completely bare. They’re being told about Saskatchewan winters, in August, and they’re already thinking to themselves, ‘Where’s my winter jacket?’,” Chrysta says.

In addition to the food security program – simple breakfasts and hot lunches offered Monday to Friday, plus donated groceries and pre-prepped meals to take away – Carmichael’s core services include:

• a boutique stocked with donated clothing, hygiene products (such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, or pads/tampons), household items, and pet food and pet items – all of which are in high demand.
• showers – with supplied towels, razors, soap, shampoo, and conditioner, and the option to get clothes from the boutique ahead of time, so they change into something clean and comfortable.
• laundry services, including detergent.
• a mattress program, with brand-new mattresses donated by Sleep Country.
• a baby program, supplying new parents with baby wipes, formula, and up to 200 diapers per year (as an emergency top-up).
• a free monthly jug of milk for anyone with a child younger than 18.
• weekly vaccination clinics on-site.
• HIV and Hepatitis C testing and follow-up with visiting nurses.
• practical support with paperwork, such as replacing lost identification.
• being one of Regina’s service providers for a federally-funded housing support program.

For the second year, Carmichael will be providing Regina’s street people with a warming centre again this winter – which will mean safe overnight housing during the coldest months of the year, for anybody who needs it.

“And it could be anybody that needs our help. I always say, you know, we’re always one paycheck away from being stuck in crisis mode,” Chrysta says. “I know when I was in that situation, I used to call it ‘bill roulette’.

“You put all your bills on a thing and it’s, ‘OK, do I get groceries? And what do I get for groceries? And then do I pay my water bill this month? What do I do? And then wherever the ball lands, that’s what I would do. And then the next month, it would happen again.”

“I’m thankful that I’m now employed, because I don’t have to worry as much,” she adds. “But I understand. I have a lot of empathy and understanding for the people who come through our door, because I’ve been there, and I’ve walked that path.”

While its services may be what draw most people to Carmichael, the most important part of the centre’s work is what no money can buy: deep, personal connections. And whether those bonds are nurtured over a game of bingo, a shared meal, a glass of water, or one of the 1,500-plus cups of coffee Carmichael serves every day, the truth is that those ties are what keep people coming back.

“The multipurpose room is not just a lunch room – it’s turned into an area of comfort, and there are a lot of community connections made,” Chrysta says. For example, there’s a group of older ladies, living on social assistance, who walk over from their apartment buildings to meet up with one another for coffee every weekday. And there are also long-time community members who sit quietly in the multipurpose room, keeping an eye out for someone who looks out of place and could use a friendly word of advice or support.

And Carmichael’s staff also model that attentive and compassionate approach. “They can really sense when somebody isn’t having a good day, and so they’ll go over and, you know, just be a friend. That’s very important, because that might be the day that that person has hit their rock bottom,” Chrysta says.

“And then we’ll make sure that we find the resources to help that person for that day. We’re not gonna just walk away and leave them high and dry, because then they’re probably not gonna be there tomorrow, and I know myself. I couldn’t walk away from somebody and know that they were in that situation and then not see them tomorrow. So we try to do what we can and help out the best we can.”

Chrysta has learned that working at Carmichael often means getting used to being referred to as mom or dad, or auntie or uncle, on a regular basis. “It’s because we’ve created not just a friendship, but a real family bond. They trust us, and they believe that they can come to us at any point and we’re not gonna do harm,” she says.

Check out the December issue of Table Talk to learn more about the partnership between Play with Your Food and Carmichael Outreach, and how our organization’s efforts have benefitted Carmichael.