Gabrielle Arsenault can tell you about the joy that comes from giving not just at holiday time or birthdays but throughout the year.
In summer heat or winter chill, Gabrielle scours Montreal鈥檚 streets for homeless people to whom she can offer 鈥渂lessing bags鈥� of essential items like toothpaste, toothbrushes, socks, tuques, menstrual pads, cookies - small stuff that has a big impact.
鈥淭he Blessing Bag Movement started in the United States. I thought it was great, but I put a tweak on it,鈥� says Gabrielle, who has worked for five years at The Neuro as an administrative technician in the pain clinic and the spine clinic.
鈥淯sually people keep a blessing bag handy and if they come across someone in need, they give them the bag. Me, I don鈥檛 wait, I go out looking. I walk the streets for hours with bags that sometimes weigh ten pounds each. My hands hurt. My feet hurt. But I don鈥檛 go home until I鈥檝e given away all my bags.鈥�
Gabrielle has given away well over 120 bags since she began in March, 2017. The homeless put great stock in items that most of us take for granted, notes Gabrielle, including socks.
鈥淭he minute I give them a bag, they ask whether socks are inside. Right on the sidewalk, they remove their old socks and grab the new ones. It鈥檚 remarkable to see someone so happy for getting new socks.鈥�
Homeless people find companions in dogs and cats, so Gabrielle prepares Blessing Bags for pets as well.
鈥淢y first Blessing Bag experience was with a woman who had a cat. They鈥檙e extremely thankful that the pet gets a bag, too.鈥�
Friends and family contribute items for Gabrielle鈥檚 bags, and she also has a few anonymous donors who give support every month.
鈥淒onations are great and appreciated, but I want people to do this themselves. I鈥檓 also trying to get people to focus on how lucky they are. People are always looking for what they want instead of appreciating what they have. If you appreciate everything you have, it changes your whole outlook. You鈥檙e happier!鈥�
Some people have followed Gabrielle鈥檚 lead and gone out to distribute Blessing Bags.
鈥淏ut many people don鈥檛 want to interact with the homeless and prefer to donate through me. I understand. Not everyone wants to go on this mission. I鈥檓 grateful for any way someone can help.鈥�
In December friends join Gabrielle in distributing not only bags but sandwiches. Even street people, she found, can be choosy. They鈥檒l ponder whether to take chicken or ham.
Gabrielle also donates items too large for her bags to the women at Le Cha卯non shelter and the Native Women鈥檚 Shelter of Montreal.
鈥淪ometimes when they tell me, 鈥楤less you,鈥� or 鈥楾hank you so much,鈥� I have to back away because I鈥檓 in tears! This is why I continue doing it. It just makes me so happy.鈥�
Anyone wishing to donate items of food and clothing for Gabrielle鈥檚 Blessing Bags can leave them in the box next to her office at The Neuro in Room 163A. She also has drop-off boxes at the Montreal General Hospital, Room A5.140, and at the MUHC Glen site---Room B02.9365 (Lana Lerette鈥檚 office in Radiology). Gabrielle is on Facebook () and Twitter: #blessingbagmovement
