Community comes together to offer services to Edmonton’s homeless

Shelley McKenzie smiled broadly as she had her hair cut Sunday morning inside the Shaw Conference Centre.

The 52-year-old has been living on the street or in an emergency women’s shelter since her marriage fell apart last summer.

“I haven’t had a haircut in a long time, so this is wonderful,” McKenzie said, as Johanna Goossens, a student at MC College, worked above her with a pink comb and scissors.

McKenzie was one of hundreds of people who attended the spring Homeless Connect event to access a variety of free services, from tax advice to laundry, dentistry and counselling.

Susan McGee, CEO of Homeward Trust Edmonton, expected 1,200 people to attend the tenth Homeless Connect event.

“It’s about the entire community getting together and participating in an effort to end homelessness,” McGee said.

McGee said the event is now “a well-oiled machine,” with more than 400 volunteers, 65 service providers and many sponsors helping it to run smoothly.

Homeward Trust, the Edmonton Economic Development Corporation, Shaw Conference Centre and the United Way of the Alberta Capital Region partner to manage the organization of the event, which is held twice a year for people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

At the haircutting area, Jolan Magnan expected more than 400 people to see a stylist.

“It’s a busy day, a tiring day, but a good day,” said Magnan, an instructor at MC College who oversaw students cutting hair.

After her haircut, McKenzie stopped by a booth offering legal advice and picked up pamphlets from Alberta Works.

“I’m overwhelmed. This is one of the best experiences I’ve ever had,” McKenzie said.

McKenzie hopes to find work as a licensed practical nurse. She was working in New Brunswick, then followed her husband to Alberta to try to save their marriage.

“I never dreamt in my life I would be homeless, never in a million years. But you get into a situation and you struggle to get out of it,” she said.

Bulldogs Gus and Gurdy joined volunteers Lori and Kevin Goodwin, of the Pet Therapy Society of Northern Alberta. The dogs have greeted people at many Homeless Connect events and visitors were happy to see them back again.

“We’re here to bring smiles and break up the long lines,” Lori Goodwin said.

Jerome Cambridge attended Sunday’s event hoping to find clothing and a meal.

“It’s a pretty good thing they’ve got going on here,” Cambridge said, looking through a rack of jackets.

Cambridge has struggled to find a job and housing since he moved to Edmonton seven months ago from Nova Scotia.

Behind blue curtains, dentist Ben Eastwood worked over the extraction chair. Eastwood, volunteering alongside five other dentists and multiple hygienists, expected the clinic to provide services to 120 people during the five-hour event.

“It’s stressful because it’s a lot of work, but it’s really gratifying to help these folks,” said Eastwood, who has volunteered at multiple Homeless Connect events.

Setting up such a mobile dental suite requires borrowed equipment, donated disposable items, and many volunteers.

Medina Mawani, 13, and Adam Mawani, 11, washed and sterilized various dental instruments, as their mom, a dentist, worked on a patient in a chair nearby.

“It’s a good feeling to be here, helping others,” Adam said. “It’s quite fun. It feels really nice, to be part of something big like this,” Medina said.