Spruce Grove, Alta. woman fundraising for the city’s homeless through ‘Connection Bus’

Fales works with the Tri Region Pay Forward Kindness Society. The organization supports residents going through detox treatments and access housing. 

A Spruce Grove, Alta., woman is taking matters into her own hands to take care of the city’s most vulnerable.

With more people falling into homelessness, Vanessa Fales is making it her mission to uplift the city’s homeless residents through her so-called ‘Connection Bus’. The project was inspired by her late brother’s life.

“The survival every day is really difficult. So if we can take that off their plate and give them a gift card for something to eat, and to be a paying customer to sit, with access to Wi-Fi, so they can move forward, that’s a big piece of what we do,” Fales said.

Fales is the community outreach coordinator with the Tri Region Pay Forward Kindness Society. The organization supports residents going through detox treatments and access housing.

Fales hosted a bottle drive and fundraiser Saturday outside the city’s Walmart, raising money to operate the bus and provide food, water, and other essential necessities for people living on the street.

“We have coffee, food, socks, warm stuff. Summertime, we have the hygiene stuff. We provide all the things that unsheltered need like bug repellent, sunblock, things that you might not think about that are a challenge for people to get,” Fales said.

Volunteers were selling 200 homemade cookies by donation, or asked shoppers passing by the store to purchase items listed on their wish list and donate to the cause.

“Currently in our community, we don’t have a shelter, or anywhere for people to go really to sit down and have a meal. We don’t have a soup kitchen or anything like that,” Fales explained.