When local resident Gus Carrasco heard about the roughly 50 people displaced from the Stadacona Apartments after a recent fire safety evacuation, he took it on in his heart to do something to help.
“When the people from the apartment got displaced, he’s been coming in more often to pick up items because he has been going daily to give meals to these people who are needing it right now,” said Deann Little, development and warehouse manager at the Moose Jaw & District Food Bank.
Little said that Carrasco stops by on an almost daily basis, and this amounts to at least three visits each week.
“At times, when I have excess of certain things, then we can give it to a person like Gus,” Little said. “He then makes up meals to then, in turn, take and deliver to the people who were staying in the motels who got displaced from the apartment building. Some of them are staying in a motel that isn’t easily accessible to the downtown core, so he makes up meals… snack bags for them, and then Gus delivers it to them.
“We make snack bags like crackers, chips, or pretzels with candy (here at the food bank)…,” Little said, noting that the staff and volunteers at the food bank help out as much as they’re able to.
Little said she’s always learning more about the needs of her clients and seeks to better help them by providing more of the food they like best. Carrasco is instrumental in this as he provides constant feedback from the people he’s networked with in the community and on the streets.
This wasn’t Carrasco’s first encounter with the food bank, and it was definitely not his first display of charitable generosity.
“He also walks the streets around Moose Jaw, befriending people that might not have a roof over their heads, (and asks) ‘how can I help you?’
“If they are willing to, he even says a prayer with them. You don’t have to be a church person to… have somebody pray for you (when you are going through tough times)… (and) bring somebody comfort and peace,” Little said.
Carrasco had previously volunteered with a local weekend meal program.
“During the summer months, different organizations needed to pause the weekend meals… Gus felt like it was put on his heart, and he wanted to (continue the) weekend meals to help these people. And so, he asked (what he could use). I have lots of bread products, so I give him (smaller submarine)-size buns, and condiments based on what I have… and that’s how it started,” Little recalled.
“He is just an incredible man. You can’t help but smile when you’re around that guy,” Little said with an inevitable smile. “He has a heart of gold big time.”
At first glance, the tattooed Good Samaritan might not appear to be someone with such a generous heart.
“If you see him, a lot of people I think, in our hearts – it’s human nature – we judge people by an outward appearance. Gus, that man has a lot of tattoos, and he has blue hair. But you know what, you’re not going to find a gentler, kinder soul.
“Something that people sometimes need to be aware of is (to not) judge people by their outward appearance, because a lot of people have a heart of gold inside,” Little said.
Little revealed that Carrasco was instrumental in learning a valuable life lesson, which is a lesson he’s taught many others in the community. “(Y)ou never know what someone is going through behind the scenes. Another person can look completely put together and be dressed in a beautiful suit… but they’re falling apart on the inside,” she said. Outward appearances are reflective of personal differences in taste and style, and don't necessarily reveal one's character.
“Just be kind to other people. That’s a huge thing on a daily basis for all of us to keep in mind,” she concluded.
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