Indigenous Harm Reduction Winter Survival Fund

TIHR is a grassroots initiative that strives to reduce the harm and burden that society places on Indigenous people with stigmatized experiences such as substance use, houselessness, and incarceration. Through access to ceremony, traditional food and medicines, essential survival items, transportation, communication networks, access to healthcare and aide, we firmly believe harm reduction is a lifesaving practice. Many of Indigenous People TIHR supports are survivors of this countries' historical and ongoing genocide, including residential schools, Indian day schools, the 60’s scoop, and the millennial scoop. TIHR coordinators are also intergenerational survivors of these systems.

Throughout the Fall and Winter months we operate Indigenous Led night outreach where we provide survival supplies to individuals who has been displaced throughout the city on some of the coldest nights of the year. Our goal through this night outreach is to travel throughout the city to find the people who have fallen through the cracks and are in desperate need of survival supplies and support. In the winter in Toronto on any given night there are dozens of people who are turned away from full shelters and warming centres due to lack of capacity and find themselves in enclaves, street corners, grates and alleyways.

Survival supplies that we distribute include tents, sleeping bags, gift cards, winter coats, tarps, warm boots, sweaters, long johns, gloves and hats, all rated for sub zero temperatures. The systemic burden that is placed on people in Toronto through bad public policy allows a continuous lack of capacity to shelter people and this will undoubtedly continue throughout the winter months.

In winter of 2022 we went out on the coldest nights and distributed hundreds of winter supplies. We even had shelter staff reach out to us on numerous occasions requesting supplies for individuals who are turned away from warming centres in the middle of the night.

With your generous support we hope to be able to fulfill this budget for the 2023 Winter Survival fund:

Gift cards 400 X $15= $6000

Sleeping Bags 250 X $100= $25,000

Tents 150 X $70= $10,500

Winter Coats 100 X $100= $10,000

Tarps 100 X $50= $5000

Sweaters 200 X $15= $3000

Long Johns 200 X $12.50= $2500

Gloves & Hats 200 X $20= $4000

We have self funded the winter outreach initiative as we see a critical need that is not being met on our traditional lands and territories. Your generous donations will go directly towards winter outreach, one of the only ones operating at this capacity in the city.