Some Stories
Friend with a Truck
A recovered drug addict uses his pick-up truck to help others struggling through life—one load of furniture at a time. This episode, first of our series, follows David Kerr, owner of the Edmonton moving company Friend with a Truck, as he helps scores of people struggling with the lousy hands life has dealt them by offering his truck, his time, and his strong arms and shoulders (to lift and carry, and sometimes just to cry on)…free of charge.
https://www.facebook.com/friendwithatruck.ca/
Cold Nights, Warm Hearts and Open Doors
Building upon a long, local history of interfaith outreach and activity that started during the Great Depression, members of Edmonton’s Al Rashid Mosque (whose small brick predecessor in Fort Edmonton Historical Park was completed in 1938 as Canada’s first mosque) open their doors on the coldest nights of a prairie winter to provide coats and warm food to unhoused, vulnerable neighbors. It is a testament to the power of forgiveness and generosity of spirit that this takes places at time when the Muslim community, so often misunderstood and maligned, is still trying to heal from horrifying events like the murder of six worshippers inside a Quebec City mosque by a gunman in 2017, and the deliberate hit and run killing of four members of a Muslim family in London, Ontario in 2021.
https://alrashidmosque.ca/
A Mother Bear Roars
Judith Gale is a First Nations woman who has felt the pain both of being separated from her birth parents in childhood, as part of the infamous Sixties Scoop, and years later of having her own infant daughter taken away when was young and homeless. Thankfully, Judith was able to get her daughter back and she is now an adult. Today, Judith is a fierce mother bear, advocating tirelessly for the homeless and other vulnerable people on the streets of the inner city. She is founder and leader of Bear Claw Beaver Hills House (previously known as the Bear Clan Patrol), a loose-knit group of 25 or so volunteers, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, who move through central Edmonton offering water and snacks to anybody in need, preventing crime and de-escalating conflict (often including that between street people and the police or private security personnel), and providing an early response to potential health and welfare situations. It is never easy work, sometimes risky and too often marked by heartbreaking loss and failure. But Judith is undaunted. As she says of her group’s name: “Our claws are out to protect our brothers and sisters.”
Facebook: Bear Claw Beaver Hills House
New Beginnings on the Avenue of Nations
For years, 107th Avenue has been a landing spot for new Canadians in Edmonton, and particularly for individuals and families arriving as refugees from conflict zones or as struggling economic migrants from impoverished developing countries. In the late 1970s and early ‘80s, the place offered a fresh start to so-called ‘boat people’ fleeing Vietnam and Cambodia. More recently, it has become home for refugees from vicious civil wars in Somalia and Sudan. Spanning twenty blocks between 95th and 116th Street, the area has been dubbed the Avenue of Nations for its rich demographic diversity. There are numerous vibrant ethnic food stores, quirky little cafes and hair salons. The neighborhood is not without challenges, though. There is no denying the street crime, drug use and violence also found here. But the rent in dozens of walk-up apartments available along and around the avenue is affordable, the area is well-serviced by public transportation, and downtown (a location of employment and vocational training for many Avenue residents) is not far away even on foot. Against this complicated backdrop, a small array of non-profit organizations, most of them run by volunteers, primarily women, who themselves were not that long ago immigrants to Canada, work to make beginning again on the Avenue of Nations just a little easier. Two organizations, Changing Together and the Multicultural Health Brokers Co-op have their offices in same building just off 107th. Changing Together offers services like ESL and pre-employment computer training, classes on the challenges of bi-cultural parenting and family violence prevention, and assists women trying to break free of domestic violence. The Multicultural Health Brokers Co-op provides help with maternal and infant health and day programs for seniors, who often feel displaced and lonely while their adult children work multiple jobs to support the extended family. This episode of Lean on Me will introduce viewers to a couple of volunteers from these critical non-government organizations and some of the new Canadians they serve.
https://changingtogether.com/about-us
https://mchb.org/programs-and-services
https://trishaudette.com/journalism/travel-writing-2/edmontons-avenue-of-nations/
Rising Sun Theatre
Rising Sun Theatre was created in 2004 as a project at SKILLS Society in Edmonton to provide opportunities for cognitively disabled people to experience and participate in the art of theatre. It was a recipient of the Telus Courage to Innovate Award in 2009. The troupe’s evolving ensemble of emerging actors, ranging in age from their early 20’s to their 70’s, work together to master a range of theatre skills needed to put on entertaining shows for an audience. To this end, they receive guidance (and plenty of encouragement) along the way from professionals in Edmonton vibrant professional theatre scene and community support workers. In this episode, we follow Rising Sun co-founder Gerry Potter, a veteran award-winning director, as he and his troupe of extraordinary players go through the process of mounting a new show.
www.risingsuntheatre.ca
A Place for Kids on the Edge
Youth deemed to be ‘at risk’ because of unsafe or unstable home lives, or because they see themselves as different and outside the mainstream because of things like sexual orientation and gender identity, often feel very alone and alienated. This episode of Lean on Me introduces viewers to two Edmonton groups that offer these kids a way to feel positive about themselves through active participation in the arts. Established in 1996, and guided by poet and novelist Gail Sobat and her small team of dedicated, mostly young volunteers, YouthWrite operate creative writing camps for kids from 12 to 18 who want to explore and tell stories, be it their own life stories and ones they imagine into being. Whether they lean towards poetry, science fiction and fantasy, memoir, graphic novels or songwriting, it is all fair game at YouthWrite’s safe and nurturing week-long summer camps and weekend winter retreats. On the visual arts side, iHuman is a non-profit organization founded in 1997 by Wallis Kendal and Sandra Bromley, a pair of Edmonton artists and social justice advocates who began collaborating with young people through work their 5 ton Gun Sculpture, a social art project created to bring awareness on the effects of war, conflict and division. The Gun Sculpture generated a lot of interest among young people, eventually leading to strong mentorship connections between the artists and kids. Eventually, they secured space near the inner city to nurture the creativity and health of the young people. iHuman’s programs have grown into an ever-adapting model of community care with an emphasis on creative services, centering on the experiences and needs of marginalized young people, many of them First Nations.
https://youthwrite.com/
https://ihuman.org/
