By Isaac Olson
Soon after an article about Single MOMtreal was published by the Montreal Gazette on Nov. 29, the new non-profit organization was swept up into the spotlight. The group was highlighted on radio and television while the Gazette article was widely shared online.
Soon after an article about Single MOMtreal was published by the Montreal Gazette on Nov. 29, the new non-profit organization was swept up into the spotlight. The group was highlighted on radio and television while the Gazette article was widely shared online.
Ever since that day, founder Nadia Wiseman has been dealing
with a flood of donations as private individuals and businesses from across the
Montreal region reach out to her, trying to help all the single moms that are
struggling to get by.
At the same time, she says there has also been a flood of
single mothers joining the group. Some are just looking to be part a network of
single moms that are active together. Others need help. They need help bad.
Wiseman, working closely with dedicated volunteers like Tanya
D’Amato, has heard a lot of sad stories and seen a lot of devastating
conditions that single mothers are living in with their children.
Some mothers have escaped domestic abuse or unhealthy
relationships with nothing but a few suitcases of clothes. Wiseman has seen women
living in barren apartments with empty refrigerators, bare shelves and hardly
enough blankets to go around.
“What I’ve been doing is matching donors directly with these
single mothers in need,” Wiseman explains, noting she tries to connect donors
to single mothers by area. For example, an NDG donor might be connected to an
NDG mother or, at the very least, somebody right nearby. “I post to our
Facebook page and in different groups, asking people to help.”
The nice thing about connecting donors directly to single
mothers is people can see exactly who they are helping. It’s a more tangible
way to give to those in need. People can actually meet the mother they are
helping, she says, and, because of that, people feel more comfortable opening
their wallets or digging into their storage for hand-me-down clothing.
“A lot of people don’t like just giving to organizations
because they don’t know where their money is going,” observes Wiseman. “Or they
still give, but they wonder after if their money actually went to a good cause.
But with the way I am doing it, they don’t have to wonder because I show them
who it is that they are helping.”
Wiseman says she has been overwhelmed by all the support as
people bring in groceries, gift cards and clothing, but more donations are
needed. As it is, a lot of people that are stepping up to the plate are single
mothers. Wiseman adds, “It’s amazing to see single moms that are already going
through hard times themselves, helping others.”
Wiseman says she also needs a place to store all these
donations as she lives in a small studio apartment in Côte-des-Neiges with her son.
There just isn’t enough space to keep it all.
The Single MOMtreal support group helps mothers connect to resources
in the community. In the private Facebook group, mothers can discuss whatever
they need, ask questions and seek advice. They help each other every day, plan
meetups, trade services and more.
Overall, Wiseman says she is grateful for all those that
have given so far. The list is too long to name everybody, but she has
regularly made posts to her group’s public Facebook feed. Those posts document
all the companies and individuals that have donated. A lot of people, she
notes, enjoy giving directly to the organization rather than dumping their second-hand
items in donation bins, never sure where they’ll end up.
“People go out of their way to bring me donations,” Wiseman
says.
“It’s amazing. One mom received 12 bags of groceries. There are
so many examples. People have been so generous. A social worker who came here
twice now, she works nearby, she dropped off like $400 in gift cards that she
collected from her coworkers at the hospital. She also dropped off some dishes
and a brand-new Monopoly game just in time for a mother that was coming out of
a woman’s shelter with two children.”
Wiseman says she is grateful for all those that have reached
out, but more help is welcome. To learn how you can give, visit Single
MOMtreal’s public Facebook page or email admin@singlemomtreal.com.
The group's website can be found here: http://singlemomtreal.com/
The group's website can be found here: http://singlemomtreal.com/
