Carmichael Outreach accepting donations again

If you’ve been holding onto gently-used clothing or other supplies, you think could be of use to some of Regina’s most vulnerable residents, Carmichael Outreach is accepting donations once again.

The downtown-area shelter closed its doors in March to try to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. As of Monday — and by appointment only — Carmichael Outreach is ready to collect and distribute donated items to its clients, acting executive director Rochelle Berenyi said.

“It’s just been interesting to try to manage doing things in a completely new and different way with very little precedent set,” Berenyi said.

Appointments will help the agency respect physical distancing by avoiding having “a whole bunch of people come in at the same time” and keep the workload manageable for the limited number of volunteers who are onsite.

The agency is asking that people doing drop-offs are masked and bringing items that are seasonal, cleaned and sorted.

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“We only have so much space,” Berenyi said, noting that the items will be stored “for a set amount of time before exposure as a precaution.”

While the Carmichael Outreach was closed, it continued to offer lunch at the front of its 12th Avenue building and run its housing support program via phone, but closed its popular boutique.

“We know that it’s been really missed,” said Berenyi, noting the agency is in the process of reopening it. Four people will be allowed in for half an hour at a time.