As donation drives ramp up, more people are using free clothing programs in Thunder Bay, Ont.

As social service organizations gear up for the holiday season, clothing drives are ramping up across Thunder Bay, Ont., to keep people safe and warm this winter.

There's the annual Spread the Warmth winter coat drive held by Gear Up For Outdoors Ltd., which benefits clients at Shelter House, Grace Place and Precious Bundles.

Then there's the UNDERCOVER Project, run by Community Clothing Assistance, which provides vouchers for families to get free socks and underwear for children ages 4 through 14.

A number of other places, from the Catholic Action Centre to The Gathering Place, offer free or low-cost clothing year round.

"It keeps people safe on the streets. It keeps them from freezing to death. All the service agencies, providers, we all work together to make sure that no one's left out in the cold," said Melody Macsemchuk, operations manager and co-founder of Grace Place, during the launch of the annual winter coat drive.

Grace Place also offers a free clothing store at its location on Simpson Street, where it provides free meals and an overnight out-of-the-cold program, with additional beds added to meet rising needs.

Last month, Food Banks Canada gave Ontario a D– on its Poverty Report Card for issues of food insecurity, housing costs and social assistance levels. The poor grade comes as organizations across the country are struggling with increased demands due to a cost of living crisis that just won't let up.

In Thunder Bay, the influx of social service clients comes after a summer when the number of people known to be sleeping outside in the city nearly tripled.

A sense of dignity

Community Clothing Assistance, a non-profit organization in town, operates a thrift store on May Street. General manager Vishesh Nayyar said proceeds from the store go toward programs such as the UNDERCOVER Project.

"Inflation has been increasing [for] quite a while now and as we've seen that prices are rising, not only in just the clothing sector but every sector," Nayyar said.

"At least we can cover their clothing aspects, and socks and underwear is something which is very basic. We know the temperature in Thunder Bay goes to –40 C sometimes and it's very harsh for them if they don't even have those basic needs."

His volunteers described how excited children are when they come in to choose pairs of socks and underwear, and their parents' emotions when bringing them in to access the program.

"Self-confidence is something which if it is gone [at a] young age, it's very hard to come by," Nayyar said. "Especially young people should be self-confident with their dignity." 

More people 'can't make ends meet'

At the Free Clothing Depot at The Gathering Place, there's a steady supply of donations, but the number of people accessing the program on alternate Tuesdays has sharply risen in the last year, said Sonya Cahais, co-ordinator of the ministry.

"I think for a lot of people they donate here because we don't charge anything for those that receive it," Cahais said.

She recalled one man who recently got shoes, jeans, a shirt and a jean jacket from the program who came back to model his outfit and express his gratitude.

"He was on disability and he can't make ends meet having to buy clothing, plus pay rent and try to get some food on the table," Cahais said. "He was just so pleased and then that just puts a smile on our faces because then we are helping somebody that way."

Another woman came in with a jacket with a broken zipper and one of the volunteers fixed it for her, she said.

Shoes are another hot commodity, since many of the people they serve don't have access to a vehicle and must walk everywhere, she explained.

At the Catholic Action Centre, which runs a Thrift Shop and Clothing Donation Program Tuesday through Thursday from 9:30 a.m. until 3 p.m, it's a similar story: more people coming to their doors.

Clothes are sold for a buck or two, but for those who really need them, they come at no cost, Michelle Beck, one of the directors, told CBC News.

The centre is most in need of donations of men's coats and shoes, as well as towels and sheets, she said.

Addressing the root causes

While food and clothing drives are essential, it's important to consider the root causes behind why they're needed in the first place, said Kevin Brooks, social justice studies program adviser at Lakehead University.

He has been teaching his students theoretical approaches to poverty but spends the last hour of class focusing on issues. This semester, there has been a major focus on the housing crisis, he said.

"Many of them are living it," Brooks said. "We have many international students in our program who have really struggled with housing when they got here, and so we hear a mix of some despair – like, 'Wow this has been really hard to find housing and to make ends meet.'"

Brooks has three ways to alleviate poverty that he said can be applied in Thunder Bay:

• Implementing a living wage, which the Ontario Living Wage Network has calculated as $19.80/hour in northern Ontario for 2023.
• Restoring Ontario's Basic Income Pilot Project, which Thunder Bay was part of before it ended in 2019.
• Encouraging Doughnut Economics, where city council would consider the impact of decisions on people's social foundation and on the region's ecological limits.

"We always also need to look at root causes and try to address the root causes that make clothing drives necessary," Brooks said. "Hopefully, we can get people to gather around some key ideas and make some progress towards addressing those causes."

Poverty prevention is key

Bonnie Krysowaty is co-ordinator of the Thunder Bay Poverty Reduction Strategy at the Lakehead Social Planning Council, which advocates for financial empowerment and resiliency. The council gets a lot of its data from its income tax clinic, and she said it's clear that poverty in Thunder Bay is on the rise.

"The main reasons for that are low wages and high costs. It's really simple," Krysowaty said. "Systems aren't working for people and what we really need to do is let governments know that we are closer to becoming homeless than closer to becoming a millionaire, and that's most of us."

The planning council is the local entity for federal funding for homelessness initiatives, and is also working on a co-ordinated housing access system that aims to make sure nobody falls through the cracks.

It's also a big proponent of paying people a living wage and tracks living wage employers on its website.

"It costs a lot less to prevent poverty than to come up with the solutions to solve poverty, so if we pay living wages to employees, they'll be able to meet the social determinants of health," Krysowaty said.

That means they'll be able to afford housing, transportation, nutritious food, education, and to partake in social activities that foster social inclusion, she explained.

While it's a difficult year for organizations to ask people for donations, Krysowaty said something everyone can do is advocate for change.

"We need to have these conversations at all levels – not just with governments, but with people in our community so that they understand poverty does not pay. The more money people make, the better off we all are in Thunder Bay."

A full list of places to get free or low-cost clothing and household items in Thunder Bay is available on the Northwest Healthline website.