MOOSE JAW — Premier Scott Moe is giving two thumbs up to a program in Moose Jaw that provides homeless and less fortunate residents with opportunities to earn money while cleaning the downtown.
Moe commended the Downtown Moose Jaw Association’s (DMJA) Helping Hands program during a media scrum at Casino Moose Jaw on Oct. 8, after meeting with representatives from the city and association during a morning cabinet meeting.
The premier noted that those conversations “were positive and productive,” while they allowed the cabinet to learn about what’s happening in Moose Jaw economically and socially.
Moe pointed out that, whether people are leaders at the provincial level, municipal level or with charities and non-profits, they all want to see stronger and vibrant communities. This includes the DMJA, which — under the leadership of Shannon Simpson — launched the Helping Hands program this summer.
The program — which has provided “real results” — gives opportunities to people facing addiction or homelessness, while it also offers support and “real outcomes” to people, who are more than just numbers or statistics, the premier said. Furthermore, as these people’s lives improve, their families also benefit.
Moe noted that people who are homeless are in that situation because of problems such as addiction or mental illness. Yet, they are still someone’s brother, sister, mother or father — and always someone’s child.
The premier added that the government must work alongside community groups — such as the Downtown Moose Jaw Association — across Saskatchewan to provide support and improve citizens’ lives.
Simpson told reporters that when she started working with the association, she was tasked with spearheading the Helping Hands program, even though she was uncertain how that would look. However, she asked community groups and social agencies — such as the John Howard Society — to provide their 10 hardest workers, and a week later, those individuals began cleaning the streets.
The program this year ran for 12 weeks, with volunteers working three days a week for three hours per day. Under Simpson’s guidance, the workers focused on cleaning up different areas of the downtown. Specifically, they tackled some of the city’s most pressing street-level concerns, from drug paraphernalia to vandalized planters along Main Street North.
Continuing, Simpson said the program has seen “huge successes,” while the workers have commented on the initiative’s effectiveness, with some saying, “This has given me a purpose,” “I have something to look forward to,” to “I’ve rebuilt my name for my community from this project.”
Ten workers participated in the program, with five finding either full-time employment or better housing, she noted.
“To me, this program is near and dear to my heart because I’ve now learned the struggles that all these people have gone through,” Simpson added, “and how hard it is to get out of them unless you have somebody that’s going to make you accountable and strive for more.”
To learn more about the Downtown Moose Jaw Association, visit DowntownMooseJaw.ca.
