How a 'Frugal Moms' group is helping people sleeping rough in the Annapolis Valley

A non-profit group typically dedicated to helping parents save money has turned its attention to supporting people living rough in the Annapolis Valley at a time when homelessness is becoming increasingly visible in rural areas.

Melinda Cote, who lives in Kentville, N.S., has been a member of the Annapolis Valley Frugal Moms Society for about a year.

She said the Facebook group has been operating for 13 years, but it has just recently started dropping off winter clothes and blankets to people living rough in the Valley.

Cote said the group, which consists of about 15 volunteers who serve between Windsor and Digby, were compelled to do something after seeing a rise in the number of people living in tent encampments and in vehicles.

"We do it because we like to help our community. We like to provide everything we can to help people who are in need of help," Cote said.

"That's what we've always done in our hearts ... just to help out the less fortunate or anybody that really needs it."

Volunteers leave the bags in public spaces so people are able to grab them as they need them. (Melinda Cote/Annapolis Valley Frugal Moms Society)

Cote said the group has been gathering donations of blankets, mittens, coats, hats, socks, boots and shoes that are bagged and then dropped off in public spaces.

"We bag them up in a garbage bag, tape them all up, put our little note on it saying that [these individuals] are loved and they are thought of, and then we go and deliver it to areas in the Town of Kentville and Middleton area as well," she said.

"We just leave them there and people that need them can help themselves."

Cote said members check on the bags after they have been dropped off to make sure they have been picked up.

"Sometimes they're gone within minutes, and sometimes it's like the next day when we notice that they're gone — so we do it at least usually once a week."

More than 230 people living rough

Alisha Christie, Kentville's housing and community partnerships co-ordinator, said she appreciates the work of Cote and the other Frugal Moms volunteers.

Christie is also a representative of the Homeless No More Initiative, a non-profit collective that advocates for housing and homelessness solutions across western Nova Scotia.

She said there were approximately 231 individuals between West Hants and Digby in 2022 "experiencing a form of homelessness or chronic homelessness with additional children and families on top of that."

Lisa Rose, the founder of the Annapolis Valley Frugal Moms Society, has been co-ordinating the efforts. (Melinda Cote/Annapolis Valley Frugal Moms Society)

Christie said that number was determined by collecting information from community support agencies that track how many people access their services over a month-long period.

"That number is just a glimpse. These are just the folks accessing services and we know there's more than that, so it's definitely a huge impact here."

Christie said homelessness in rural areas is typically considered "hidden homelessness or invisible homelessness," but it has become more apparent in the last five years — and with it comes stigma.

"We're at a point right now that as communities we need to make a choice to change our perspectives and to see the full individuals of who they are. Many individuals experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity are full-time employees, they're parents, they're friends," she said.

"They're also artists and well-educated individuals that have had intersectional issues impact them and lead to their housing status. I mean, we can't place blame on the individuals when we have a system that's rooted that their access to housing is directly connected to their ability to accumulate income."

The bags often contain blankets, quilts and winter clothes like hats, mittens and coats. (Melinda Cote/Annapolis Valley Frugal Moms Society)

Christie said it can be difficult to help people experiencing homelessness in rural areas because of a lack of investment and fewer operating organizations.

She said there are several organizations around the Annapolis Valley, including the Opens Arms Shelter, Chrysalis House and Project Hope, that can help people with housing needs, but more needs to be done.

"There's a need for more across the continuum. So yes to more shelter, but also transitional housing, supportive living, senior housing, family housing, public housing, across the continuum," she said.

"Any human right now is feeling the pressure of the housing crisis, whether they have a mortgage or not, so at all layers we need more housing."

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