Community-led collection of PPE donations for essential workers begins

“If we can protect those people and the people that service them, the workers, the volunteers, then ultimately they don’t make their way into the AHS system because we’ve been able to protect them right off the start,” said community liaison Kristine Russell.

Russell is spearheading the equipment drive along with over 400 members on the Facebook page that have already joined to supply essential workers who are not employed in the health care system.

For organizations like the Medicine Hat Community Housing Society, the need for these protective items is critical according to manager of homeless and housing development Jaime Rogers.

“We can’t keep up with the demand with that need for PPE,” said Rogers. “Our workers go in every day and we have limited PPE supply.”

Rogers and her team have partnered with PPE Medicine Hat and will be facilitating the distribution of the equipment to a variety of non-profit groups and long-term care facilities in the community.

“We will swap supplies actually between those providers whether that’s the Miywasin Centre, the Medicine Hat Women’s Shelter, Salvation Army, ourselves as well and other agencies,” said Rogers. “We will ensure that they have the proper PPE for what their level of need is at their current organizations.”

Between Medicine Hat High School and Deerview Meats, the collection site will be receiving roughly 11,000 pairs of latex and nitrile gloves.

Along with gloves, PPE such as eye goggles, safety glasses, face shields, hand sanitizer, and no-touch thermometres are also being accepted.

Above all else however, there is one item that organizers are in desperate need of moving forward.

“Masks, 100 percent masks,” said Russell. “Those are going to become in very short supply very, very quickly.”

Community support is helping to ease that burden however, with a local group of women and a pair of Hudderite colonies stepping up to sew over 1,300 masks for the cause.

A GoFundMe page has since been set up for the volunteers who have had to purchase their own fabric and supplies to create the masks.

“They’ve got I think over 30 women plus there’s two colonies and possibly a third coming on to help sew those masks,” said Russell. “What they’ve done is incredible.”

Rogers added these protocols are helping to protect those workers in the community who are dealing with the vulnerable sector, which in turn helps alleviate pressure on Alberta’s health care system.

“The critical element that maybe we don’t share often enough is that if we don’t have staff to support these individuals, that falls onto other systems that are maybe already taxed out,” she said.

As for volunteers, over 35 locals have signed up to run the collection site through the rest of April while Mr. Lube donated part of its parking lot while remaining open.

For Russell, it’s a welcomed reminder of how community can overcome crisis.

“Anytime anybody needs anything, our city is really great at stepping up and helping wherever they can,” said Russell. “Hopefully there is a steady flow of traffic over the next month.”

Residents can drop off items from 1:00 to 3:00 pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

More information on how to donate and support the collection campaign can be found on PPE Medicine Hat’s Facebook page.

by Scott Roblin

Community-led collection of PPE donations for essential workers begins

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