The Northwest Family Medicine Site Advocacy Committee heads out each month to deliver food, supplies and support to vulnerable people in North Battleford. (Photo courtesy/ Dr. Ali Anum)

By Kenneth Cheung

A HELPING HAND

‘We’re not all well until they’re well’: Outreach program brings care to North Battleford’s most vulnerable

Jun 2, 2025 | 3:42 PM

“God bless you,” a person told Cymric Leask. “Thank you for caring about us.”

Those words might sound like a simple thank-you — but for her, they capture exactly what the monthly outreach program is about: connection, compassion and showing up for people who need it most.

Leask is the HIV project coordinator at Battle River Treaty 6 Health Centre (BRT6HC) and is involved in the program.

“They often give back tenfold in the words that they give back,” she said.

The outreach effort is organized by the Northwest Family Medicine Resident Community Outreach Committee, made up of medical residents working out of the Rapid Access Addiction Medicine (RAAM) clinic.

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The idea started in fall 2024 with a food drive organized by the committee and has since grown into a monthly partnership with BRT6HC to build meaningful connections with the community beyond clinic walls.

“They saw a big need in the people that were coming in, especially revolving around food access,” Leask said, adding the gap was most noticeable on weekends when services like the food bank and soup kitchen aren’t available.

“They came to me and asked if we would be able to partner with them,” she said. “They would be able to bring the food and the manpower. They just needed a van or something that could take all of them around and to know where to go.”

In an article published by the University of Saskatchewan, family medicine resident Dr. Anum Ali described how the initiative helps break barriers.

“By stepping outside the clinic, we build trust, break down barriers and foster a real sense of belonging,” Ali said.

“For me personally, it’s about showing up, connecting, and being human first – and a doctor second. Honestly, standing in the cold awkwardly pouring coffee with frozen hands probably made me more approachable than any clinic visit ever could.”

A picture taken from a previous outreach session. (submitted/ Cymric Leask)

With help from peer worker Fred — who has lived experience with housing insecurity and substance use — the group now heads out once a month, usually on a Saturday.

They deliver between 65 and 70 go-bags filled with sandwiches, fruit, juice, water and seasonal supplies like sunglasses, hand warmers or wool hats.

Local restaurant The Blend contributes coffee and individually wrapped meals.

“We’d stop at the shelter for half an hour. We’d go to Library Park for, like, half an hour. And then we started actually going to people’s houses,” Leask said.

Some recipients have become familiar faces. Others are new. Either way, she said, it’s about building relationships.

“People have their own life paths and it’s not my role to say where they are going or how they should get there,” she said. “But just kind of walk beside them in their journey and let them know that they have support.”

The health centre supports around 150 people locally and nearly 300 across the region, including clients from Sweetgrass, Little Pine and Poundmaker Cree Nations.

Leask said working for an Indigenous-led organization has allowed her to support clients in a more holistic way, with a focus on harm reduction.

“There’s so many aspects to health and there are so many aspects that are missed from this kind of westernized medicine,” she said. “So it’s nice to work for an Indigenous organization that allows me to do more than just my job role and job description.”

As a queer outreach worker, she said visibility and representation matter — especially for people who don’t always feel safe in traditional healthcare settings.

“2SLGBTQ people are often overrepresented in a lot of these areas as well, so that is also something I’m really passionate about — teaching people, even just making people aware,” she said.

“Maybe they don’t get anything from my conversation or my presentation, but then they know that they have someone that they can come back to that’s like a safe person.”

The next outreach is scheduled for June 14.

As the program grows, Leask hopes it continues to build community — and maybe even convince some young physicians to stay in the region.

“The only way things are going to get better is if more people start caring about things and become actively involved,” she said. “We’re not all well until they’re well as well.”

According to Ali, the team also hopes to expand the program’s impact by creating an Amazon Wish List for direct donations, reducing environmental waste through compostable packaging, and organizing more community-centred events inspired by the creative energy of the residents involved.

“I also hope that future residents see North Battleford not just as a “regional site,” but as a community worth investing in — with heart, humility, and maybe a few extra hand warmers,” Ali said.

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Kenneth.Cheung@pattisonmedia.com