PAGC looks forward to further partnerships to proactively help homeless residents
Nearly 300 homeless residents received a hot meal courtesy of the Prince Albert Grand Council (PAGC) and their partners on Tuesday.
Volunteers gathered at the PAGC Urban Services Building for a free Easter Community Dinner. PAGC Urban Services Director Edward Mirasty said hosting dinners like this is a priority for the organization.
“It’s something that we try to give back to the community,” Mirasty said. “For our homeless sector, it’s an opportunity for them to enjoy a warm cooked meal and have something to eat as many of them don’t get that luxury that we do.”
Volunteers from emergency services such as the Prince Albert Fire Department, Prince Albert Police Services, and Parkland Ambulance joined those from educational institutes like SIIT and local Prince Albert businesses to dish up the free meal.
Mirasty said the support was overwhelming.
“I was quite humbled with the representatives that did come out,” he said. “We had volunteers in large numbers that helped serve and help us put together this meal…. It was just a very humbling experience.”
Mirasty is new to the PAGC Urban Services Director role. When he started a week ago, he began asking about plans for hosting lunches for homeless and community members.
After being told nothing was planned for Easter, Mirasty and his staff got to work.
“I said, ‘well then let this be our first event.’ said Mirasty. “This would be a way to engage with our business partners, our community members, and for us as PAGC Urban staff to come together to make a special event for those who are most at risk.”
Homelessness has been in the news recently as Prince Albert discusses where to build a new homeless shelter. Mirasty said he’s not surprised to see large number of homeless residents, but is confident it can be addressed with a renewed focus on solutions like education.
“We know that a common denominator with homelessness, with gangs, with MMIWG, is low education attainment, and we’ve got the research to back that up,” he said.
Mirasty added that it was great to have strong support for the Easter Dinner. He said Urban Services looks forward to further partnerships that can lead to a proactive approach to dealing with homelessness in the community.
–with files from Jason Kerr/Daily Herald
