Students in the Community Social Work (CSW) program at Portage College made the Thanksgiving weekend a little better for people using the Lac La Biche homeless shelter, providing a meal and some seasonal cheer.
The students were at the municipal shelter that is operated by the Lakeland Out of the Elements Shelter Society (LOESS) on Oct. 11 to prepare and serve a meal for clients at the using the shelter’s services. The facility, located beside Lac La Biche’s Alexander Hamilton Community Park, opened in mid-January and is comprised of five trailers on seven acres of fenced property owned by Lac La Biche County.
Jessie Callioux and Samantha Onciul were among the group of community social work students who worked together to cook and serve the meal.
Callioux said the experience was beneficial for the students as it gave them a good idea of what a location such as the transitional housing facility can look like , how it operates, and the people who rely on it.
Furthermore, he added, it also ties into what they are learning about in the program, including issues such as homelessness.
“We got to talk with one of the workers here, and she gave us some amazing examples of what they do and how they help the people that come to stay at this facility,” he told Lakeland This Week. “It’s nice getting out into the community and getting to experience the services that we learn about in class, and now we actually get to experience it.”
For Onciul, participating in the activity helped her to take what she has been learning in the classroom and apply it to real-life situations.
“I’ve learned a lot about helping the community,” she said.
Lenora Lemay, the chair of the Lakeland Out of the Elements Shelter Society, said the college and the social work program have been very supportive of the facility. She said the college program has sent students working on their course practicum to the shelter for experience and social work instructors were part of the discussions about the shelter’s transitional housing mandate. She hopes the meal and visit will lead to more local interaction between community groups and the shelter.
“We were delighted to hear they wanted to learn more about how we can work together,” Lemay said.
Homelessness, shecontinued, is a very complex and multilayered issue. As an organization, she explained, the Out of the Elements Soiety is open to the possibilities that arise from activities such as this one to better meet the needs of those who access its services, and to bring more awareness to the community about the shelter.
“Understanding how to support those experiencing homelessness requires partnerships that encourage building on foundational learning with programs like the Community Social Work program,” she said.
The Thanksgiving meal included a turkey dinner, home-baked pies and home-made jams made by students and instructors.
