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IvieCORPS: Call or text message 204-999-2380 for Connections with Opportunity, Resources, Programs, and Services
Vie: means life in French, and vine in Romanian. Our goal as IvieCORPS members: One day without homelessness! Passion without planning is pointless. Planning without pursuing is powerless. Pursuit without perseverance is nonproductive." - Jeri W. Stern, Founder, IvieCORPS About Jeri: Why am I crying? Why I feel fortunate Relating to the homeless Why I'm a college dropout About IvieCORPS: Contact IvieCORPS What does IvieCORPS do? Our needs as an organization Solidarity by Squaffice and Portabloffice: we don't have a home, either What can I do? Let's talk about it Let's work together Introducing yourself and getting to know a homeless person by name Help IvieCORPS help the homeless, the hungry, and the hurting I means so much to know I have support. My biggest problem is getting volunteers. Everyone seems "too busy" to help me help the homeless, hungry, and hurting on the streets of downtown Winnipeg and the exchange district, and the reality is without volunteers and all kinds of donations, not only is this very difficult (no matter what I still think it's possible), but it's also quite risky. I've run in to violent drunks and drug dealers, and I've had a knife pulled on me. I really do care about all these people, no matter what they try against my safety, but they are sometimes a danger to both themselves and others. I simply can't keep doing this alone. If you want to donate or volunteer or support IvieCORPS in any way, please let me know. Any kind of help is so greatly appreciated. My name is Jeri Stern, and this is my story... ↑ I went to the Gerick Theater to see Hannah's Story, a documentary about homelessness, at Freeze Frame, and through the whole showing I had tears in my eyes, and in fact on several occasions burst out crying. I'm not even kidding. The movie made about what Hannah Taylor is doing to help the less fortunate really touched my heart, and inspired me. I was there to find out about the Ladybug Foundation, because I already had begun following my dreams. Those dreams happened because of an encounter I had with homelessness in 2007 which changed my life. I was crying because I didn't just learn about the Ladybug Foundation. I saw and heard things in that movie that were too big to fit into my mind - so they reached into my soul. ↑ Here's the silly part: ● I'm a 21 year old man. ● I have a place to live. ● My clothes are clean ● I have a bank account. ● I have an income ● I get a bus pass every month ● I get counseling when I need it ● I always have food on the table. ● I have easy access to education. ...and there I was weeping as if I know what it's like to be homeless! Why? I'm sure you can understand. I have all that, and the homeless don't, and I don't think it's fair. I can still relate though, sort of. ↑ What you don't know about me is: ● I owe my credit card lots of money ● Almost all my clothes are second-hand – many homeless people don't even have enough clothes ● My dad took me in and rents out his house so I can live in Winnipeg – many homeless people don't have family to which to turn ● I live in the North End with my dad, where so many kids and people my age get into crime, and people are getting hurt or killed every day out there ● My income is through “social assistance”, so the government pays my rent and gives me a bus pass and phone bill money: I'm unemployed right now – homeless people don't have a fixed address, so there's nowhere to which to mail a check, no matter if they're working or on welfare ● I owe the phone companies, a TV/Internet company, Hydro, Gas, and Water lots of money, because I decided to try moving in with a room mate who took advantage of me – homeless people are taken advantage of and treated badly all the time ● I dropped out of college and quit my job, just like so many homeless people did at some point in their lives. Stay in school so you can live a happier life in the future! If you can't go to school, at least read lots of books every day, or ask people if they can teach you things you don't know. See, just like you, I am a regular person, with regular problems, and I'm following my passion. ↑ Why did you drop out of college? I've been told I have a promising career as an artist, and someone suggested I take a course in multimedia. After going to a campus in the downtown / exchange area of Winnipeg, I came to see just how hurting and hungry many people are in that area. One of the most important reasons I dropped out was so that I could see what I could do to help the very same people who had asked me for money on my way to and from classes at Red River College. After IvieCORPS is a registered, recognized organization, I'm totally going to go back to studying. This time, though, I'll be taking classes - same classes or different ones - with a totally different outlook. No matter what happens in the future though, I'll be educating myself on how I can help people - anyone and everyone - and I'll always keep IvieCORPS running, growing, and improving the way we help those in need. I started college to be a voice for myself. I stopped college to be a voice for the homeless I believe the need is so big I want to work full time helping the homeless, but it doesn't make me any money. Anyone can work at a job or work at any other passion. If you're good at something, and you love doing it, you should work hard in school to get better at it, so you can do it every day when you are older. ↑ What does your organization do? We help homeless people, and the otherwise less fortunate. Here's basically how it works: I have lots of phone numbers for organizations which already help people living in poverty. I store these numbers in my cell phone. Cell phones suck, but I don't know any other way of doing this. Often the less fortunate don't have access to a telephone, or they don't know where to turn and are maybe too busy trying to stay alive to make phone calls. I simply take clothing, food, and other things they need, to them, wherever they are, and make phone calls for them to meet whatever other needs they have. We meet the needs of the needy where they are, whatever they need, when they need it. It's great learning their names and getting to know them! ↑ What's so special about a name? Think about this: when you walk past someone asking for money or digging for food in a garbage bin, maybe you don't stop and think of them as a person - a person with a name. Ever ask for his or her name though? Names are powerful things! Once you learn somebody's name, you can imagine that person's mother saying or calling out her or his name 20, 30, or 40 years ago, when he or she was a baby, just born, or even your age. If you think about it, you can see someone with a past, who had parents, had friends, and even used to know what it was like to be loved! When you learn somebody's name, you find out how much you have in common, and you can start to care about that person if you don't already - and you should care about them anyway, as much as you care about your family! Knowing their name, though, makes it hard not to care about them! ↑ Do you want my money to pay off my bills or my other debt? No – I'll take responsibility for my debts. This isn't about me. No offense, but I don't even think it's about you! It's about the homeless people out there. ↑ Do you have an office? IvieCORPS doesn't have an office, but I have a "Portabloffice" and a "Squaffice". I couldn't honestly say I stand in solidarity with those I help unless I could truly say "IvieCORPS, too, doesn't have a home". ↑ 
I have what I call my “Portabloffice”, made out of three small boxes. I carry it with my all over downtown Winnipeg and the exchange district, and fill it with whatever a homeless or hungry person might need, like food, clothes, and sometimes unused toiletries. It also holds important information - pamphlets, business cards, brochures, and a miniature phone book - to bring to those who need it. I'd like to help each volunteer make their own Portabloffice. I write all over my Portabloffice. ↑ What does your Portabloffice say? Here's what my Portabloffice says: Front and Back ● I've got what you need! Ask! ● I just added this while at the NFB film release for Hannah's Story: ● Believe in yourself Trust somebody Believe in people Learn from your mistakes, and then move forward Be patient” - Rick If Rick can do it, so can you! ↑ Out Side ● Free clothing (while supplies last) ● Free local phone call ● Free food / water / coffee / chat ● Free shelter / housing ● Free bus ride / transportation ● Free directions ● Free training / education / schooling ● Credit / Banking ● Criminal Record Removal ● Free Health Care ● Free counselling and recovery (from alcohol and other drugs, jail, or anything else) ● Free access to soup kitchens ● Jam night / performances for buskers ● An income if you wish Plus you get ● Dignity ● Respect ● An ally ● A smile ● Confidentiality through our privacy policy ↑ Top ● Need Help? Easy Rules! 1. Promise me – you give me your word – you won't run off on me 2. I'll help you if we can agree to trust each other 3. Agree to a free meal if offered – keep anything I give you, or keep it just to give to a friend later 4. Promise me you won't get the police involved, and I'll promise that to you too 5. If you have a problem, admit it. Be upfront, and tell me 6. Be honest: no lying 7. Don't want help? Tell me why not. ● If you agree to the above, start by telling me what, and how much, you need. ● Volunteers and Staff Needed! ● Clothing donations here: (One of the boxes I have taped to the other box and it's just for clothes I get donated, but for now I don't have donations so I pick up these things off the ground, street, or sidewalk and let them thaw off if it's winter) 1. belts / suspenders 2. sunblock / sunscreen 3. toques / hats (no lice) 4. jackets 5. shirts 6. gloves / mitts ↑ What do you need? I'd love it if since we're an organization which has a positive impact wherever we go, bringing the less fortunate to the shelters and soup kitchens and helping them in so many other ways, maybe you could help me help them. ↑ There are many ways to help. Donations Accepted: ●Very cheap or used wallets to pack with contact information for groups and places to go if you need help: our volunteers will give those wallets to the less fortunate for when they can't help them any other way ●Clothing: warm winter clothing, and clothes for the summer time includes hats, sandles, shoes, t-shirts, sweaters, suspenders, pants, sun-glasses and stuff like that If you can, please make sure it doesn't have lice or mites, and it's even better if you can clean it first. ●Non-parishable food, or well-sealed fresh food for volunteers to give out the same day ●Unused sanitary supplies and toiletries: toothpaste, cotton balls, tooth brushes, sun-screen, shampoo, soap, and other things like that. ●Money, so IvieCORPS can pay its bills, and buy things we aren't given free ●We also help out a group that gives backpacks full of helpful things to the homeless, so if you have used or new backpacks to spare, we'll take those too and pass them on. ↑ Let's Work Together You could help with fund raising, volunteering, or donating all kinds of things IvieCORPS might need, or things a homeless person might need. We're looking for other organizations we can partner with as well. ↑ Let's Talk About It One of the most important things you can do though is talk about homelessness. I can think of two ways of getting the word out. ●One is to go to the Ladybug Foundation to get a Ladybug Scarf. When people ask you about it, tell them you wear it to help in remembering the homeless. ●The other way is to chat on this website with other people who care about the less fortunate, and share your ideas of how we can help them. So please try to come here often to talk. If you're not a grown up, make sure you have a parent or teacher with you when you do. ↑ Thanks for thinking about the homeless. They're a lot like you and me; they just need someone who cares about them. Contact IvieCORPS Call 204-999-2380, or fill out the feedback form, if you want to help raise funds, ask a question, volunteer, or to give a suggestion or donation. Back |