Manitoba woman honouring late mom by helping those in need

A cold day in Manitoba on Jan. 28, 2023. (Source: Mason DePatie/CTV News)

One Manitoba woman is honouring her late mother’s life by taking on an initiative to help Winnipeggers without a home stay safe in the freezing cold.

The initiative is called the Anita Project, and it was launched by the Community of Big Hearts, a social enterprise dedicated to advancing truth and reconciliation.

Through this project, the organization handed out care packages with gloves, hats, scarves, hand warmers, and food to those in need.

Salena Starling, president and CEO of the Community of Big Hearts, said the people she met with were hopeful despite living in dangerous conditions.

“It gives me this life knowing that they believe that they deserve life. They believe that they deserve every opportunity that comes to them, and every person that I met was so kind,” she said in an interview with CTV Morning Live on Tuesday.

“Although they are living in some of the harshest conditions, I’ve never seen people so hopeful.”

Starling said she created the Anita Project as a way to honour her biological mother who froze to death while living on the streets of Winnipeg.

“When I had the opportunity to create a project of anything I wanted, I knew it had to be in honour of my mom,” she said.

To support the Anita Project and those in need of help, Starling asks people to look into their own lives and see what they can donate.

Starling said she can be contacted through social media.

“Anything we can do to give back to these individuals, I urge you to,” she said.

“Even if it’s not directly with me, I believe every person can make a difference in this world.

• With files from CTV’s Rachel Lagace.