Posted: Apr 19, 2021 9:34 AM AT | Last Updated: April 19
Snake said he’s proud to have helped build Freedom Kitchen’s new building outside Knox United Church.(Elizabeth Chiu/CBC)
Deep in the forest near the Hefler lumber mill in Middle Sackville, N.S., was the place Snake called home, surviving 11 months living rough in 2019.
A victim of poverty and the Halifax region s affordable housing crisis, he turned to the woods instead of a men s shelter or living on the street. CBC has agreed to identify Snake, 56, by the nickname he uses with his friends. I didn t honestly think I was ever going to get out of there and get back on my feet, he said in an interview on Friday. He thought back to how hygiene was his biggest problem. He would wash in the river or at the library.
HALIFAX Moving 3,000 pounds of food is no easy task, but every month, the crew of HMCS St. John’s and Freedom Kitchen put all hands on deck to make it happen. Last October, Freedom Kitchen, a volunteer kitchen based out of Lower Sackville, N.S., received a giant shipment of donated food. They made it known that they needed help, and the crew of HMCS St. John’s answered the call of duty. Without them, we would struggle, said Freedom Kitchen co-chair Rainie Murphy, as a group of uniformed navy personnel unloaded food behind her. To find volunteers available that early in the morning on Monday was really hard.