It's Socktober!🧦💛 We are so happy to have received our first Socktober delivery yesterday! In anticipation of the coming winter months, we are asking for help in collecting 30,000 pairs of new donated socks during October to keep many pairs of feet dry, warm, and healthy. (We are not accepting any used socks this year.) We meet many requests for sock needs here at MSP. From individuals entering Protective Care with nothing on their feet to shelter community members needing a new pair of dry socks, to those living in transitional housing who require new socks, we cater to a wide range of needs among those we serve. People experiencing homelessness are at risk of developing serious foot health issues, including infections, ulcers, ingrown toenails, and nerve damage due to diabetes. Being exposed to the elements can cause frostbite. In severe cases, foot health issues can lead to serious illness and amputation. Many folks we support at MSP spend a significant amount of time on their feet, often walking several hours a day in ill-fitting shoes, and they frequently lack access to a shower to clean their feet and the opportunity to change into clean, dry socks. We want to do everything we can to help keep these individuals healthy over the coming winter months by providing new socks. You can help! Learn how to support Socktober: https://www.mainstreetproject.ca/main-street-projects-8th-annual-socktober/ #MSPBuildingStability #Winnipeg #Manitoba #MSPSocktober (fb)

October 10 is World Mental Health Day and World Homelessness Day, an interesting intersection of two significant dates to acknowledge and understand how each issue impacts the other. From homelesshub.ca “People with poor mental health are more susceptible to the three main factors that can lead to homelessness: poverty, disaffiliation, and personal vulnerability. Mental illness can also impair a person’s ability to be resilient and resourceful; it can cloud thinking and impair judgment. For these reasons, people with mental illness are at greater risk of experiencing homelessness. Homelessness, in turn, amplifies poor mental health. The stress of experiencing homelessness may exacerbate previous mental illness and encourage anxiety, fear, depression, sleeplessness, and substance use. Considerable studies show that people experiencing homelessness are more susceptible to poorer mental health than the general population. The stressful environmental conditions and the difficult situations that homeless people experience daily can trigger mental illnesses or aggravate existing conditions." Recommendation #10 from the most recent Winnipeg Street Census speaks to the intersection of mental health and homelessness, and the importance of adequate mental health supports for a person's experience in finding and maintaining housing: "10. Recommendation: Increase mental health supports to individuals who are experiencing homelessness, to those who are precariously housed, and to those who are recently housed. • Rationale: Mental health struggles were common among survey respondents and contributed to housing loss and difficulties transitioning out of homelessness. Specifically, more than half (56%) reported struggling with their mental health, with even higher rates among women (64%) and gender diverse and non-binary individuals (81%). For some (8%), mental health challenges were reasons for their housing loss. Notably, 66% of respondents reported they need mental health supports to find and maintain housing." #WorldMentalHealthDay #WorldHomelessnessDay (fb)