Youth helps the homeless
It was past bedtime one night when Justine Deer’s six-year-old son Wallace Zachary turned to his mother with a heart-warming request.
“He said to me that he wanted to help the homeless and give them everything that they need,” she said. “He just kept going on and on about it, so we ended up putting it together, we picked a date, and we did it.”
Deer said that she believes her child learned about the hardships faced by others from his excellent teachers at the Mackay Centre School, who she said have helped him thrive in the classroom.
“He’s opened up a lot, so I really give kudos to the school he’s in,” Deer said.
The young Zachary was passionate about helping the homeless in an interview with The Eastern Door.
“They don’t get to eat for years,” Zachary said, adding that it makes him sad to know that people are going hungry.
Deer and Zachary were joined by Carla Deer, Corrine Zachary, and Kiona Deer to hand out 40 bags of food to homeless people in Montreal. The team packed bologna sandwiches with cheese and lettuce, as well as apples, oranges, ramen noodles, peanuts, apple juice, and water.
Courtesy Justine Deer
“It felt nice,” said Wallace, who spent five hours with the group walking around Montreal, stopping whenever they saw someone who looked like they needed help. The team distributed the packages in the streets and in metro stations, and gave away every last bag to people who were struggling.
“A lot of them were very grateful and happy,” Justine said, adding that as a parent, it’s a good feeling to hear your kids wanting to do good for others.
“It’s really wonderful.”
Justine had initially shared a video on her Facebook account of Wallace talking about his desire to help the homeless back in February, and she was touched when community members reached out to support her in helping Wallace fulfil his mission.
One individual donated money to buy bologna for sandwiches, which Wallace took to Mohawk Market proudly, and donations ended up covering all the expenses for the food, which helped the group increase the number of food packs they were able to distribute.
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Wallace and Justine are hoping to head back to the city in the future and continue to help those in need.
