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Seeds of Hope Gala to put a face on poverty in Red Deer

The Mustard Seed’s gala is Saturday at the Sheraton Hotel
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The Mustard Seed building in Red Deer. (File photo by Advocate staff)

Red Deerians will put a face on poverty and homelessness at the first-ever Seeds of Hope Gala.

The Mustard Seed will explore the complex causes of homelessness at the gala at the Red Deer Sheraton Hotel on Saturday evening.

“There are many factors, not just drugs and alcohol, that can cause an individual to be homeless,” said Scott Tilbury, The Mustard Seed’s fund development officer.

Tilbury said Red Deerians want to understand the causes of homelessness.

“It’s very important to take the time to identify stigmas and to educate our community on the reality of the factors involved.

“Someone could lose family in a tragic car accident, and as a result of that, they may turn to an addiction,” he said.

“Divorce might lead to domestic violence, which leads to a woman ending up on the street. Domestic violence is the number one cause of homelessness for women.”

The sold-out event will have 325 guests, including Mayor Tara Veer, members of council, Red Deer-North MLA Kim Schreiner and representatives from local schools boards.

There will be entertainment, dinner, cocktails, art, music and carnival-themed activities.

Tilbury said people will share their experience with poverty at the event, including Pat Nixon, The Mustard Seed’s founder.

“He was a homeless man over 35 years ago,” said Tilbury. “Many people in the room will be there to share their story – people you wouldn’t even think have lived through these challenges in their life.”

Money raised at the gala will support various Mustard Seed priorities, including the dry shelter, which opens Dec. 1, the school lunch program, which serves 350 to 380 students every day, and a sanitizer dishwasher.

“Right now, people are washing dishes by hands (at The Mustard Seed). Sanitization is very important here,” he said.

This is the biggest event The Mustard Seed has held in Red Deer, said Tilbury. The non-profit organization has hosted a gala in Calgary for many years.

For more information about The Mustard Seed, visit www.theseed.ca.



sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com

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Sean McIntosh

About the Author: Sean McIntosh

Sean joined the Red Deer Advocate team in the summer of 2017. Originally from Ontario, he worked in a small town of 2,000 in Saskatchewan for seven months before coming to Central Alberta.
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