(Medicine Hat PPE/ Facebook)

By Tiffany Goodwein

Neighbors helping Neighbors

Medicine Hat PPE sends hundreds of supplies to Brooks

May 3, 2020 | 10:45 AM

MEDICINE HAT- It’s an old adage that rings true even in the midst of a pandemic: Neighbors should help neighbors.

And a helping hand is exactly what happened Thursday as volunteers assembled a car load of PPE destined for Brooks.

“We were going through PPE equipment like crazy and it was starting to impact our ability to provide services to people fleeing domestic violence. So we are just so grateful that we are able to to rely on our neighbors to stock us up so we can continue to provide services to the people of Brooks,” said Shauna Bell, executive director of the Cantara House.

The Cantara House provides essential emergency shelter for men, women, and children fleeing domestic violence. The facility, under COVID-19 restrictions has 10 beds available and twenty-two staff are employed at the safe house.

Hundreds of gloves, hand sanitizer, masks, face shields and disposable coveralls were given to the facility. A much appreciated gift, as all staff and clients are required to wear gloves, masks, and gowns while in the shelter to prevent the spread.

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“We’ve been really challenged to get what we need. Hand sanitizer we are almost out. As of last week I think we had one mask left, and that is just not sufficient,” said Bell.

The City of Brooks has been grappling with a significant COVID-19 outbreak, with 970 cases of the virus in the community.

The materials were made by a group of volunteers from Medicine Hat PPE.

“We saw the need immediately and it was the right thing to do. As any good neighbour, you look after one another. And ultimately we know that by helping them will in turn help keep our numbers down, ” said organizer Kristine Russell.

Last week, the group sent approximately 600 masks to essential front-line workers like grocery store workers and those at pharmacies.

The volunteers are putting needle to thread once again, this time with the hopes of delivering 1000 masks to other key community groups like The Brooks Food Bank, Brooks & County Immigration Services, SPEC, and Global Village.

They are also hoping to deliver even more masks to more essential grocery store and pharmacy workers.

Russell said the organization is also looking for some extra hands to help with their efforts.

“We are looking for experienced seamstresses to help Masks YXH with production. If you are interested in helping please email masksyxh@gmail.com,”

For more information about Medicine Hat PPE, their email address is ppemedicinehat@gmail.com or check out their Facebook page.