The snow has (finally) started to fall again, the wind is getting colder, and most of us are getting time off of work or school to spend with family and friends. The Christmas season is finally here.
Regardless of your religious affiliation, this is a special time of year. With the winter solstice, we will experience the shortest days of the year, but the many Christmas lights displays through town will ensure that the night is bright. My family has never been religious, but Christmas is still a profoundly meaningful time - I have plenty of friends and family who have moved away, and this is my only chance to see many of them.
Because of friends and family, I will probably spend much of most of my Christmas break indoors, cooking, talking, enjoying the company of others. But now, more than ever, we should all focus on more than just our own house and remember those of us in society whose Christmas experience will be different - those whose rent is so high they can hardly afford food, those living on the streets.
This year, the Battlefords Food Bank gave out 350 Christmas hampers. To qualify for a hamper, individuals had to provide proof of expenses and proof of income. Of those who qualified, 151 were families of four or more, another 151 were for groups of one to three people. The remaining 48 were given out on a first-come, first-serve basis. The Empty Stocking Fund also gave out toys for 600 kids.
These numbers can give us an idea of poverty in our community. While the Saskatchewan economy is in many ways one of the most successful in Canada, it has not affected everyone equally. Many have watched rent prices increases as wages stayed the same, started paying mortgages only to lose their jobs, or, as I have written about in my column, have come to Canada with professional experience, only to have their credentials not be recognized. The food bank numbers alone show the number of local residents living either in poverty or on the edge of poverty is around 1,000. In Canada itself, the poverty rate is slightly over 10 per cent.
This Christmas, let's make sure to keep the poor in our hearts, and help in any way we can. Don Toovey, who runs the Reclaim Outreach Centre, can use donations or volunteers, and can be reached at 441-1041. The Battlefords Indian-Métis Friendship Centre, which is running a temporary homeless shelter, could use donations or volunteers and can be reached at 445-8216. Gavin Albert, of Cornerstone Community Outreach can use donations of clothes and food for their Christmas dinner Dec. 23 and can be reached at 481-3121. And finally, the food bank can always use donations. Call Bill Hall at 937-5505 or drop donations off at their location on 101st Street.
Regardless of your situation, Merry Christmas from all of us here at the News-Optimist.
