The delectable scent of freshly baked muffins fills the air. Nearby, people browse through racks of clothing. The sounds of lively chatter and music are audible. But this isn’t a typical day at a shopping mall – it’s a Thursday afternoon at Share the Warmth, the multi-faceted organization that’s been helping Montrealers in need for 20 years.

Share the Warmth was founded by Judy Stevens and her sister-in-law Linda Hodes in 1989 after the two women received a visit at their old business place from a woman who told them she was going out onto the streets to help feed the homeless. “My sister-in-law said, ‘You know what, we’ll get some warm clothes and we’ll meet you on the street,’” Stevens recalls.

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Carefully lined up on the improvised sales counter, the merchandise looked like toy soldiers preparing to go forth on their mission. Cozy and colourful, the knitted hats stood proudly on islands of rolled up matching scarves, meant to warm regular, little and very little heads. Baby blankets and doggie sweaters completed the tableau.

Within seconds, a whole faction of the army was gone, destined for grandchildren who were “just turning 40” and great grand-children “just now being born.” The clock was just creeping up to 11 a.m. and the Kensington Knitters’ Famous Hat Sale hadn’t even begun.

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It’s an unusual gathering of activists. The room is warm and comfortable, the walls adorned with paintings, picture frames, bookshelves. The lighting is soft, and gentle murmurs rise and fall in volume. The guests are seated around the room, forced to the walls in an effort to make space for the others.

Through the whistling of the kettle comes the delicate but firm tapping of a teaspoon on porcelain. My grandmother, Thérèse Bourque Lambert, summons everyone as the whispers abate. It is time to start the meeting of the West Hill Grandmothers Group for AIDS in Africa.

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