Equipped with one shopping cart and four big hearts, one of Winnipeg’s newest community groups is determined to make a difference.
A few months ago, the team’s executive director, who goes by “Cash”, began organizing weekly outreach walks under the name Ace of Spades Activism.
“I’ve been doing, by myself, some outreach stuff, and come December, a bunch of friends wanted to get involved,” Cash said. “Come this spring, we got a permanent team together and these guys are just great. They’ve really helped us grow and they made it into what we are now.”
About three times a week, the Ace of Spades team walks Winnipeg’s Main Street strip, handing out food, water and NARCAN kits.
Though they come from low-income backgrounds, they purchase most of the supplies themselves.
“Most of the supplies come from kind donors or us ourselves putting it in,” Cash said. “We normally take out like a hundred to two hundred NARCANs at a time. Most of the time we give them all out, sometimes we have like thirty, forty left.”
In under 20 minutes, crew member Tammy Spence handed out over 100 bags of popcorn.
As someone who once faced similar struggles, she said it warms her heart to give back.
“I talk to a lot of people,” Spence said. “We can connect with them on that level…some people we see, we do know.”
The team draws on their lived experiences to connect with the people they help.
“We’ve all been through rough stages in our life. A lot of us have been through addiction, some of us have been through gangs, crime, and turned our lives around for the better,” Cash said. “Now we just want to try to help people.”
As they expand their efforts, the group hopes to open a shelter one day.
On Aug. 31st, they’ll host a winter clothing drive at the community garden next to the Elisabeth Fry Society of Manitoba (544 Selkirk Ave).
They invite anyone interested in joining to reach out through the Ace of Spades Activism Facebook page.
