"Gittin' 'er Done": As City Hall Talks, Kookums Feed the Hungry
Defying the Deep Freeze and Deeper Complacency: The Grandmothers Feeding Medicine Hat's Forgotten
Last year, City Hall created the Resilient and Inclusive Community Task Force to address "social disorder”. One of their tasks was to find a location for a 24/7 shelter before winter. Nearly a year later with temps that have hit -40C with the windchills, we are no closer to a 24/7 shelter. While the nearly 30 member Task Force debates how to address the homeless situation, there is a group of people who are
Gittin’ ‘Er Done.
They don’t argue over who needs to do what, they get together to feed the most vulnerable.
The first people I met doing this sort of thing a few years ago were a group who were called “The Wienie Wednesday Ladies”. They were serving people in BATUS Park downtown every Wednesday. At that time, they asked me to not write about them. They feared getting shut down if people knew what they were doing.
That attitude has since changed.
One woman was openly feeding and helping those in need, in open defiance of those who opposed her. Geraldine Stuber made herself known and was joined by others. Together they created -
The Niitsitapi Kookums
The Kookums describe themselves as
“A council of Grandmothers, Mothers, Grandfathers and fathers from ALL NATIONS helping our community, Elders and youth and bridging the gap between Indigenous and Non Indigenous by our Street Outreach and Ministry. It started with handing out blankets. We follow the 7 Grandfather Teachings! If it’s not from Creator, Mother Earth or the water then we don’t need it… 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽✊🏼✊🏼✊🏼🦅🦅🦅 Reconciliation begins at the core of ALL people through healing and caring for each other because what once divided us is now uniting us 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽 “
The following groups have all banded together to feed people: the Kookums, the Wienie Wednesday Ladies, the Medicine Hat Cares Society and the Donut Lady. They most often serve the food in the park across from the Downtown YMCA. The city has provided a garbage dumpster at the site which makes it easier for cleanup - I saw it being well used, there was no litter on the ground.
2 pm Sunday January 25 The temperature in the park was about -18C with the wind chill (it was a bitter wind) and these volunteers stood outside in the cold to feed the Street Folk. No paperwork, no judgement, no questions other than
“Do you want (specific item)?”.
Nobody is seen as being ungrateful for saying no, seconds are often offered. I saw one man collecting food for for his companion who was sitting down under a nearby tree. He served them before going back to get food for himself. The Kookums even offer food for people to take home to eat later.
The feeling of community was wonderful to watch - these volunteers have gained the trust of the Street Folk; they have earned their respect. The volunteers are there for well over an hour, handing out hot food, hot coffee, cold drinks, goodies and warm clothes or blankets with a heaping dose of love and compassion.
I had a good winter jacket on, warm socks and boots, gloves, a hat and scarf; I was cold after a 1/2 hour.
The volunteers represent a cross-section of the community - from those in smart professional attire to others in worn, practical clothes, their appearances speaking to very different daily realities. They treat each other as equals; there is no condescension.
The diminutive Donut Lady is well known in the community - every night after McBride’s Bakery closes (yes, THAT bakery), The Donut Lady loads up her car and drives around looking for people to give food to. She not only distributes food, she distributes compassion and joy with her infectious smile. While members of the Task Force debate policies, she is out there in all weather making our city a better place, one donut or cinnamon roll at a time.
There is another person who goes around and distributes coffee and sandwiches, he asked me not to use his name. The Street Folk know him as “The Sandwich Guy”.
There are others who do something similar.
One of the Kookums I spoke with on Sunday says she once didn’t understand homelessness, often crossing the street, not making eye contact. Now she interacts with the Street Folk, giving or receiving hugs.
Yes, the organizations that provide various services are wonderful. There’s a few churches in town that provide meals as well but they do it inside of nice warm buildings - this group is doing it outside.
The Kookums and others saw a gap; they acted to fill that gap. They were told by others they could not do it, some were even harassed by city workers who sought to deter them from what they were doing, at times demanding to see permits for serving food.
The Kookums operate on a simple principle: feed the hungry.
In stark contrast, the cruel and dehumanizing rhetoric that sometimes surfaces online - treating hungry people like unwelcome vermin - reveals more about the speaker's lack of empathy than it does about the complex reality of homelessness. It's a principle that shames the critics who scrutinize charity with a cost-benefit analysis applied to no other human need, implying some people simply don't deserve to eat.
How You Can Help
The Kookums could use an indoor space to serve food, even if it is just to get out of the wind. While cooking facilities would be nice, it is not necessary. (There’s a lot of empty buildings downtown. Also, the Helen Beny Gibson Lounge in City Hall often goes unused. It’s warm, has lots of tables and chairs as well as access to toilets.) The Kookums can always use donations; money, food, warm clothes, etc., volunteers are welcome as well. Contact the Kookums on their Facebook Page to find how you can help.
