Thunder Bay Bear Clan Patrol has new structure, new resources

The patrol has expanded its leadership structure in order to ensure more people are sharing the responsibilities, chair Ivory Tuesday told CBC News.

• Thunder Bay Bear Clan looking for more volunteers to help with safety patrols

• Thunder Bay Bear Clan Patrol to be set up

"A few of us had started burning out," Tuesday said. "A lot of us are students that are in full-time studies ... [and] part-time jobs. Some of us work shift work."

"We were still out there every weekend even though we were running on empty."

In addition to finding more help from friends and community members, the group has received an influx of support from other community organizations and businesses.

The group 100 People Who Care, which pools private donations and provides lump sums of cash to charities and community groups, made the Thunder Bay Bear Clan Patrol the recipient of its fourth quarterly pooled donation of $3,800.

The patrol will use that money to buy a huge range of supplies, including radios and first aid supplies, Tuesday said.

Home Depot employees purchased vests, flashlights and gloves for the patrol, she added, and Eat Local Pizza has pledged pizza for patrol nights.

Brian Hamilton of the Bean Fiend Cafe subsequently posted on the group's Facebook page offering coffee for patrol nights too.

"Which is pretty amazing," Tuesday said. "We go through a lot of coffee."

Winnipeg's Bear Clan Patrol is even sending merchandise to the local group to be used for fundraising.

'I feel relieved'

"I feel relieved, I guess, to have more help," Tuesday said of all the contributions.

"I was it guess a pretty huge weight on my shoulders to try and keep everything going, and now that I've got friends helping it's really nice."

Tuesday herself is also donating to the group personally, pledging to buy drones for the patrol because "they're needed."

"Ivory should be a little less modest,"interjectedKristin Burnett, a Lakehead University Indigenous learning professor who was visiting Tuesday when she spoke to CBC News.

"Ivory actually spends a lot of her own money ensuringthat both there's gas in the vehicles, that people are fed, that she can put up people in hotels for a night when they're in crisis," Burnett said.

"Ivory spends a lot of her own personal time and money ensuring people are safe."