Bear Clan seeks funding to keep employees

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This article was published 26/02/2025 (279 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The loss of a key anonymous financial donor has left the Brandon Bear Clan women’s council scrambling to find replacement funds to maintain the salaries of two employee positions.

“We had an anonymous donor for the past … at least six years, and every year the amount was reduced, like a little less and less amount,” said women’s council treasurer Tammy Hossack. “So we’re looking for different options and ways to keep our staff going.”

This particular funding source was earmarked for employment within the Bear Clan’s office space at the Brandon Friendship Centre. This year, Hossack expects that funding will run out by the summer.

While the organization is primarily volunteer-based, Hossack says the two paid staffers — one full-time and the other a part-time position — do much of the behind-the-scenes and extra daytime work necessary for the Brandon Bear Clan to function smoothly.

“They buy the food, prepare the food, they gas up the vehicle, they load our vehicle up with all the donations that we do on our patrols,” Hossack said. “They do all the forms for when we have new patrollers, paperwork, the administrative part of that, and keeping track of stats.”

These same staffers offer their presence in the drop-in area, providing supplies to people who may need some items or help, and also do needle pickups off the street when contacted by members of the public.

The Bear Clan is also involved in the city’s mobile crisis unit hub, and the paid staffers take in Tuesday meetings, and support people who are in crisis.

Describing itself as a community-based solution to crime prevention, the Brandon Bear Clan tries to provide “a sense of safety, solidarity and belonging to both its members and the community they serve,” according to the Friendship Centre’s website.

Volunteers who go out on patrols in the evenings offer food and sometimes clothing to individuals on the street, as well as provide information and supplies. Hossack says that last year volunteers made 9,896 contacts while out on patrol, a significant increase from the 2,800 contacts they made in 2018.

But in order to do that work, the volunteers need help getting things organized and prepared.

Hossack said without the two employee positions, much if not all of the day-to-day service provided by the Brandon Bear Clan would not be possible. The volunteers they have, while committed, would simply not be enough to handle the current needs.

“I imagine we would still continue to try to do our foot patrols,” she said. “But the food amounts may be less because we would have no one preparing them. So it would all be on a much smaller scale, and probably not as often. You know, probably how we started back in 2017 where we made peanut better and jam buns on a counter right before we walked out the door.”

The Brandon Bear Clan was slated to meet with Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett on Tuesday on a different matter, but in a brief conversation with the Sun, women’s council chair Janelle Zazalak suggested the donor issue may come up at that meeting.

In the meantime, Hossack says they are submitting several grant applications as a means to help solve the issue, including to organizations like Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries, the Indigenous Peoples Resilience Fund, the Brandon Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation and TELUS.

“And then, of course, we’re meeting with the different levels of government. We met with (Brandon East NDP MLA) Glen Simard yesterday.”

When reached by phone yesterday, Fawcett praised the work done by the Brandon Bear Clan, saying that the organization has had a great purpose in the city since its inception.

“It’s boots on the ground, it’s a connection with people. It’s got lived experience,” Fawcett said. “They’re a connection to the community that is necessary.

“I know that we’re a little bit low on volunteers right now, but it gives those people also an opportunity to be involved, be engaged and to sometimes go on to other things, which is really important.”

Thankfully, Hossack said, the Bear Clan receives many other donations that go toward the services that they provide for the community, including office space at the Brandon Friendship Centre, food and other items from individuals and businesses alike.

“We do get a lot of donations that way,” Hossack said, “but just not for wages specifically.”

» mgoerzen@brandonsun.com

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