'I knew I had to do something:' Sask. student hand-delivers meals to homeless

A Saskatoon student is taking a hands-on approach to addressing homelessness in the community.

Twice a month, Taniesha Brass-Windigo delivers about 50 bowls of soup and bannock for people downtown Saskatoon.

She got the idea when driving downtown, seeing people sleeping under tarps.

“I’m literally going home to my warm bed and there’s people sleeping with tarps and it’s cold outside. It got me choked up, so I knew I really had to do something,” Brass-Windigo told CTV News.

Brass-Windigo is in her final year at SIIT, studying mental health and wellness.

After completing her practicum at the Lighthouse, she says her eyes opened to the number of people who need help in the city.

“I would see how many people would come and say, ‘Is there a snack? Is there food? Is there anything? I haven’t eaten all day?’” Brass-Windigo said.

“Going home and trying to debrief from that, you really realize how much you take for granted.”

She says handing out the warm meals opens the door to conversation.

“They share their story, how they got to where they are,” Brass-Windigo said.

“Some of them got me really emotional and this is just the sad reality there are people living like this in our community and what are we doing to help them?”

Brass-Windigo’s GoFundMe page, raising money for cooking supplies, exceeded its $1,000 goal.

She said she’s grateful for the help and is looking forward to watching her mission grow.

“It’s just the start of winter, so I’m excited to see how big it will snowball into December and January,” Brass-Windigo said.

Her next delivery is on Saturday.