Latest news with #StephanieMeilleur
CTV News
5 days ago
- Climate
- CTV News
Manitoba Métis Federation calling for more donations to help wildfire evacuees
The Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) is once again asking for donations to help wildfire evacuees in the province. The MMF has set up its wildfire evacuation resource centre again after Manitoba declared its second state of emergency due to the ongoing wildfires. 'We are going through donations like hotcakes,' said Stephanie Meilleur, who is leading the evacuation response for the Red River Métis Community Resource Department. Meilleur said the most needed items are hygiene-related such as shampoo, baby items and men's clothing. She anticipates the need will grow. 'We know that there are another 700 people arriving today from the Garden Hill area, and there are several other communities that are looking to evacuate in the coming days,' she said. 'I would say it's higher demand than it was during our first wave.' Cash donations are also being accepted online. The resource centre is located at 406 McGregor Street. Wildfire evacuees can attend and pick up the items they need for free. There is also a children's area where kids can do activities while their parents and guardians grab the items they need. 'Seeing the relief that we can supply to evacuees when they walk through these doors and be able to have a sense of dignity when they go through and grab their essentials and the items that they need, that's the rewarding part of this,' Meilleur said. Donations can be brought to the resource centre or at the MMF's donation centre at 25 Ray Marius Road.
CBC
5 days ago
- Climate
- CBC
MMF looks for 2nd wave of donations in 2nd wave of wildfire evacuations
The Manitoba Métis Federation has rebooted its request for donations for wildfire evacuees as the province is swept up in a second state of emergency and another exodus from communities. "The need is extreme, and I say the word extreme very, very seriously. We have thousands of evacuees that are in the city of Winnipeg [and] the city of Brandon," said Stephanie Meilleur, director of the Red River Métis community resource department. "At this time, both the province as well as the Canadian Red Cross are working around the clock to secure more congregate centres as further communities continue to evacuate." As of last week, at least 13,000 people were registered with the Red Cross as evacuees, and that number is growing, with three out of four Island Lake communities also preparing for evacuations. The military began removing people from Garden Hill Anisininew Nation on CC-130 Hercules transport airplanes on Friday, and said that as of Sunday afternoon, more than 1,550 had been flown to Winnipeg. The community is about 500 kilometres north of Winnipeg and is not accessible by road. Manitoba declared its second provincewide state of emergency of the year last week as wildfires continue to rage. Evacuees are limited to taking only the bare essentials, which means there's a big need once they get to safety. To help them out, the MMF reopened its donation and evacuation centre at 406 McGregor St. in Winnipeg's North End. "We call it retail therapy for evacuees, and in there, we have clothing for all genders, we have a baby room as well as a shoe room, we have a pet supplies," Meilleur said. There are also hot meals, bottled water, snacks and non-perishable foods. The centre also provides hygiene products, but those supplies are limited and are at the top of the MMF's donation wish list. "We are extremely low on that — everything from deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, razors — all those things that we all keep in our bathrooms and take them for granted. These are the things that evacuees do not have right now," Meilleur said. Another vital need is anything for babies, such as formula and bottles but also strollers and car seats. "A young family with young little ones cannot take their stroller with them on aircraft as they are evacuating most of these communities. They're fly-in only, so they're arriving with no way of actually being able to get around with their little ones," Meilleur said. "So we are in desperate need of strollers." Donations are accepted at 25 Ray Marius Rd. in the St. Boniface Industrial Park. The McGregor Street centre is primarily a drop-in centre where evacuees can find what they need. (Donations get transported there from the St. Boniface warehouse.) However, the generosity of the public will not be turned down at the McGregor site, Meilleur said. "We try to encourage everyone to go to our donation drop-off warehouse … but just keeping in mind for those that can't make it to 25 Ray Marius, we will still accept donations at 406 McGregor." Both locations are open from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. daily. "Now is the time we need you to help donate. We need those gently used items that you have at home that you feel that an evacuee would need, because we are in a state of emergency and we have so many poor people from the north that are coming down and need these supplies," Meilleur said.
