Posted by admin on March 8, 2012 · 1 Comment
She wheeled the stroller into drop-in. It was a bitterly cold day and the bundle inside the stroller was barely recognizable…But WE knew who it was! Since we have known Gladys, she has been talking about gaining full custody of her granddaughter who was in the foster care system. She and her husband are housed, receive a pension and were fighting hard to get three year old Amy back. They had a lot of hoops to jump through, but they did it and as she walked into the drop-in a couple of weeks ago, Gladys could barely contain her joy. Once she was freed from the confines of her snowsuit, Amy mirrored her grandma’s big smile and said that she got to live with grandma and grandpa ALL the time now! She talked non-stop about how much she loved being with her grandparents and how happy she was. This couple doesn’t live high-off-the-hog, but they have a lot of love to give this little girl and she has a lot of love to give back. We count ourselves blessed to be a part of their support system!
Kim
Filed under ABCD, About OIM, Addictions, Alcoholism, Assets Based Community Development, Biblical, Breaking the cycle of poverty, Christmas, christmas cheer, Christmas giving, christmas on the streets, christmas spirit, creative arts, Dignity, Drop In Services, Events, General Poverty, gift of christmas, homeless christmas, Homelessness, Housing, Housing Ontario, Housing Ottawa, Injustice, injustice Ontario, Justice, justice canada, meaning of christmas, mental health, mental illness, Miracle on the Streets, Passion for Youth art program, Personal Experiences, Poverty, Poverty in Canada, Recovery, Respect, Social, Street Outreach, Street Youth, street youth art program, Street Youth in Canada, Street Youth Ottawa, systemic poverty canada, Uncategorized, Volunteer Ottawa, Volunteering · Tagged with
Posted by admin on March 2, 2012 · Leave a Comment
“Excuse me m’am…do you have any bus tickets? I have to get to an appointment this afternoon.” I was speaking with a couple of our friends at drop-in this week when a quiet and somewhat unsteady woman approached me and posed the question. I answered that we only give out tickets from the office and that there was no one there right now. I was just starting to tell her that I would double-check that when Corie, one of the friends in the group I was standing with, reached into his pocket and gave her 2 loonies. He doesn’t have much himself. Each week he gets a bag of groceries from our food-bank and I know that the ends don’t often meet in his budget. To say that I was humbled would be an understatement, but we see examples of generosity in the street community all the time. At the office the other day, one of our friends gave his gloves to another because he had a warm place to sleep and the other guy didn’t. I think we’re often guilty of thinking that we have so much to teach our street friends…but maybe…it’s the other way around.
Filed under ABCD, About OIM, Addictions, Alcoholism, Assets Based Community Development, Biblical, Breaking the cycle of poverty, creative arts, Dignity, Drop In Services, Events, General Poverty, Homelessness, Housing, Housing Canada, Housing Ontario, Housing Ottawa, Injustice, injustice Ontario, Justice, justice canada, meaning of christmas, mental health, mental illness, Miracle on the Streets, Passion for Youth art program, Personal Experiences, Poverty, Poverty in Canada, Recovery, Respect, Social, Street Outreach, Street Youth, street youth art program, Street Youth in Canada, Street Youth Ottawa, systemic poverty canada, Uncategorized, Volunteer Ottawa, Volunteering · Tagged with ABCD, Dignity, living on the streets, street work, walk the streets
Posted by admin on February 10, 2012 · Leave a Comment
If you look at me, and squint really hard, I look like God.
Whoa! Don’t be hasty! Unless you ask my little sister, I’m not that cocky. What I mean is, I’m made in God’s image. If you’d like to use a different metaphor, I have my Father’s eyes.
I bring this up because sometimes people ask me what I do when I volunteer with OIM. This is an easy one to answer! I do exactly what God has always intended I do in every single interaction I have with any human being (street engaged or not): I try my best to look like God. Polish up that blurry image so that it’s as clear a likeness as possible.
So whether I’m sharing a laugh in an after hours Laundromat, debating the best legal strategy for a court appearance, huddling in a doorway to discuss the impact of Winterlude on the street engaged population, or peering into the corners of a market parking garage, what I’m hoping for is that someone will see me, do a double-take, and then see God.
It’s only fair. Because it’s a pretty regular occurrence for me to turn a corner, see one of my street friends, and catch a strong glimpse of God.
And I usually don’t even have to squint.
Filed under ABCD, About OIM, Addictions, Alcoholism, Assets Based Community Development, Biblical, Breaking the cycle of poverty, creative arts, Dignity, Drop In Services, General Poverty, homeless christmas, Homelessness, Housing, Housing Canada, Housing Ontario, Housing Ottawa, Injustice, injustice Ontario, Justice, justice canada, meaning of christmas, mental health, mental illness, Miracle on the Streets, Passion for Youth art program, Personal Experiences, Poverty, Poverty in Canada, Recovery, Respect, Social, Street Outreach, Street Youth, street youth art program, Street Youth in Canada, Street Youth Ottawa, systemic poverty canada, Uncategorized, Volunteer Ottawa, Volunteering · Tagged with
Posted by admin on January 27, 2012 · Leave a Comment
Going to work this morning, I came down the same hill at the same time and saw the same bus going up the other side. I got on my usual bus with the same driver and saw the same people going about their routines too. Before that, I got up, checked my email…watched the morning news as I had my coffee and said goodbye to my family as I do every morning.
Routine…predictability…we might be tempted to see it as boring…but it’s actually healthy! Of course we like to shake it up every now and then to keep it interesting, but mental health experts say that routine and knowing what tomorrow will bring is a key factor in your overall health. The stress of not knowing what tomorrow will look like can be seen first in a lowered immune system leading to frequent illness, and chronic stress leads to changes in the very biochemistry of one’s body leading to conditions such as depression.
What did your morning look like? Many of the people we see at OIM woke up not knowing where they will eat today, or where they will sleep tonight. Many don’t know where they will be tomorrow, let alone in a week.
Routine…predictability…doesn’t sound so bad does it?
Filed under ABCD, About OIM, Addictions, Alcoholism, Assets Based Community Development, Biblical, Breaking the cycle of poverty, Christmas, christmas cheer, Christmas giving, christmas on the streets, christmas spirit, creative arts, Dignity, Drop In Services, Events, General Poverty, gift of christmas, homeless christmas, Homelessness, Housing, Housing Canada, Housing Ontario, Housing Ottawa, Injustice, injustice Ontario, Justice, justice canada, meaning of christmas, mental health, mental illness, Miracle on the Streets, Passion for Youth art program, Personal Experiences, Poverty, Poverty in Canada, Recovery, Respect, Social, Street Outreach, Street Youth, street youth art program, Street Youth in Canada, Street Youth Ottawa, systemic poverty canada, Volunteer Ottawa, Volunteering · Tagged with art therapy, Assets Based Community Development, biblical justice, break cycle poverty, christmas gift, christmas poverty, christmas spirit, Dignity, gift of christmas, help the poor, Homelessness, homelessness ottawa, Justice, Make a diference, Recovery, Respect, Street Youth, street youth outreach, walk the streets
Posted by ken on January 5, 2012 · Leave a Comment
Very different indeed. A bit hard to process for some, so let’s paint a picture of the reality of kids on the street. Many issues certainly, here are a few:
Physical Abuse: most kids are fleeing domestic violence. Hard as street life is, it’s viewed as better than ‘home’.
Substance Abuse: if it hasn’t already started, it comes into the picture big time when the kids hit the streets. It begins as self-medication to try to deal with pain of whatever they are facing. Then it turns into a physiological thing and then the kids need to maintain so as not to go into withdrawal.
All alone: Even though they hang out in larger groups for safety, each of these ‘tough kids’ is just a kid, like the kid across the street from you, who has HAD to put on an image in order to survive. It is a mask, necessary for survival. No support, no one to help, none. None.
Violence: is a part of it all, along with ‘survival tactics’ that are less than pretty: prostitution, drug use with needles and prescriptions and whatever else comes to hand, even running drugs for the ‘boss’ man.
We deal with these issues, portrayed through kids who mostly never had a fair chance because of their background. So we love on them, encourage them in the smallest things you can imagine, build self-esteem whenever we can, and really, just try to hang on to them.
Statistics report that there are a few levels of socio-economic backgrounds of kids on the streets, but guess what? The pimps, dealers and other exploiters, really do NOT care. They see a source of income, a piece of meat to ‘sell’, a means to their own selfish ends.
They come to us. They come every week. They have no other place to go that is positive, encouraging and supportive.
Yea, it’s hard work, and it really hurts sometimes, but we believe in these kids with all of our hearts.
Filed under About OIM, Addictions, Alcoholism, Breaking the cycle of poverty, Dignity, General Poverty, Homelessness, Injustice, Justice, justice canada, mental health, mental illness, Passion for Youth art program, Personal Experiences, Poverty, Poverty in Canada, Recovery, Respect, Social, Street Outreach, Street Youth, street youth art program, Street Youth in Canada, Street Youth Ottawa, systemic poverty canada, Uncategorized, Volunteer Ottawa · Tagged with Addictions, Alcoholism, art therapy, Assets Based Community Development, biblical justice, break cycle poverty, Dignity, help the poor, Homelessness, homelessness canada, homelessness ontario, homelessness ottawa, injustice Canada, injustice Ontario, living on the streets, Make a diference, poverty ontario, poverty ottawa, Recovery, Street Outreach, street youth outreach, walk the streets
Posted by ken on January 3, 2012 · Leave a Comment
Filed under ABCD, About OIM, Addictions, Assets Based Community Development, Biblical, Breaking the cycle of poverty, creative arts, Dignity, General Poverty, Justice, Miracle on the Streets, Passion for Youth art program, Personal Experiences, Poverty, Poverty in Canada, Recovery, Respect, Street Outreach, Street Youth, street youth art program, Street Youth in Canada, Street Youth Ottawa, systemic poverty canada · Tagged with ABCD, Addictions, art therapy, Assets Based Community Development, break cycle poverty, Dignity, help the poor, Homelessness, homelessness canada, homelessness ontario, homelessness ottawa, street work, Street Youth, street youth outreach
Posted by ken on December 21, 2011 · 2 Comments
This is the eighth and final episode of “Rachel’s Gift”. Listen as Rachel finally reveals her “Gift”. Invite your friends to listen and ‘catch up’ on previous episodes. If you missed episodes go to ‘Recent Posts’ from November 28 (right hand column).
Ladies and Gentlemen, here’s Rachel:
Thanks for your support for our Passion 4 Youth Art program this Christmas. Help us continue this life-changing program. Designate a donation today! Just click the ‘Donate’ button. Thanks for your special gift!
Filed under ABCD, About OIM, Addictions, Alcoholism, Assets Based Community Development, Breaking the cycle of poverty, Christmas, christmas cheer, Christmas giving, christmas on the streets, christmas spirit, creative arts, Dignity, Drop In Services, gift of christmas, homeless christmas, Homelessness, meaning of christmas, Miracle on the Streets, Passion for Youth art program, Personal Experiences, Poverty, Recovery, Respect, Street Outreach, Street Youth, street youth art program, Street Youth in Canada, Street Youth Ottawa, Uncategorized · Tagged with art therapy, Assets Based Community Development, biblical justice, break cycle poverty, christmas gift, christmas poverty, christmas spirit, Dignity, gift of christmas, help the poor, Homelessness, homelessness ottawa, Justice, Make a diference, Recovery, Respect, Street Youth, street youth outreach, walk the streets
Posted by ken on December 19, 2011 · Leave a Comment
“Rachel’s Gift is an 8 part series until December 23. To listen to the audio backgrounder, click: Rachel’s Gift episode 7 If you missed episodes go to ‘Recent Posts’ (right hand column), beginning November 28.
“I don’t like to look too far into the future, it’s overwhelming and you don’t really know what the future holds. If I think about the future, I start to think, ‘I can’t do it’ and stuff like that.
Right now I just have small goals. Like I am looking forward to the training to do street outreach, and start with that. I want to help people, people that are like, in my position, and do what I can to really help in the outreach program. (Rachel has joined our Urban Intervention Training and is preparing to do street outreach to people experiencing poverty and homelessness in Ottawa).
I’m praying a lot about what I am being called to. I do my devotions every day, and read my bible every day. I try to think about what God or Jesus would do and learn as much as I can. I’m a new Christian I guess, and I want to help people.
A lot of my friends ask me ‘How did you do it? How did you do it?’ and I tell them, ‘It’s Jesus and the methadone program. I say both ‘cause if you just say Jesus, they’ll say, like ‘Yah. OK. Whatever,’ and not listen. But it’s more than the methadone program. I try to help them understand the change in my life. We talk about the methadone, and then somehow they always end up asking about Jesus. It’s true. If I didn’t have Jesus, and if I didn’t have a relationship with him, I don’t think I would be clean. He just led me to the right places.
The fact that He came to the earth, died on the cross, that He died for me, that’s what it’s all about. That’s what Christmas is all about. Because of what He has done for me, the least thing I could do is to live for Him. I just keep seeing things in my life that He keeps doing for me, and prayers that have been answered. I used to be, ‘Yeah, God and all that,’ but now there’s just too much that He’s done for me, I just can’t deny it now. There’s just too much God in my life to deny it now.”
In our Final Episode: Listen as Rachel herself recounts her story about the Gift this Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 8 and 5.
THEN, starting Wednesday, return to our website to see Rachel make a video appearance and share a brief testimony of her life. It’s a Miracle! It’s a Gift to us all! Merry Christmas!
Filed under ABCD, About OIM, Assets Based Community Development, Breaking the cycle of poverty, Christmas, christmas cheer, Christmas giving, christmas on the streets, christmas spirit, creative arts, Dignity, General Poverty, gift of christmas, homeless christmas, meaning of christmas, Miracle on the Streets, Passion for Youth art program, Personal Experiences, Poverty, Poverty in Canada, Recovery, Respect, Street Outreach, Street Youth, street youth art program, Street Youth in Canada, Street Youth Ottawa, systemic poverty canada · Tagged with ABCD, Addictions, art therapy, Assets Based Community Development, break cycle poverty, christmas gift, christmas poverty, christmas spirit, Dignity, gift of christmas, help the poor, homelessness canada, homelessness ottawa, living on the streets, poverty Canada, poverty ontario, poverty ottawa, Recovery, Respect, Street Youth, street youth outreach
Posted by ken on December 14, 2011 · Leave a Comment
“Rachel’s Gift is an 8 part series until December 23. To listen to the audio backgrounder, click: Rachel’s Gift episode 6. If you missed episodes go to ‘Recent Posts’ (right hand column).
“I really think the work skills program is a big part of why I’ve stayed clean. It has given me structure. I have made some goals and I am working on my goals.
The way you guys talk to me, it’s not like I’m on a program, it’s like I work here. We go for lunch together and it’s really cool. I’ve never had this kind of structure in my life before, and having people really talk to me is new. People are not like talking down to me, just telling me what they think I want to hear, they just accept me for who I am.
In the work skills program, they say you should be responsible if you want to be a part of the program. You can’t be part of the program and then not follow up. They will hold you to what you say, you know? They won’t accept anything else from you.
If I didn’t have this place to come to, I don’t know where I’d be. I’d have too much free time to think about things and well you know… This place is Christian based, and that helps me a lot.
There is a light that God’s people have and I wanted the happiness that they have. I started going to church, going back to church just over a year ago. I haven’t felt better - ever.
Erin at the office is kind of my boss. It’s going really good. If she knows there’s something bugging me, she’ll come to talk to me like a real person. The other day I was upset and I thought she was upset with me, and she said, ‘No, I am not upset with you’. We talked. Then she wouldn’t let me leave without praying for me, which was really cool, ’cause I know she really cares. Nobody expects anything from you. They are always encouraging you.
I used to think it was so hard, ‘cause I felt totally alone, but now I am not alone. I have so much hope. Totally, lots of hope. I opened a bank account today. All right, yeah!”
Next Week: Closer and closer to Christmas and closer and closer to the revelation of Rachel’s Gift. Don’t miss the exciting conclusion to this great story. We do not receive on-going government funding for our programs, but instead rely on the generosity of people who care, just like you. Why not make a special Christmas donation to help us continue our youth street outreach programs. Thanks and Merry Christmas!
Filed under ABCD, About OIM, Addictions, Alcoholism, Assets Based Community Development, Breaking the cycle of poverty, Christmas, christmas cheer, Christmas giving, christmas on the streets, christmas spirit, creative arts, Dignity, Drop In Services, General Poverty, gift of christmas, homeless christmas, Homelessness, meaning of christmas, Miracle on the Streets, Passion for Youth art program, Personal Experiences, Poverty, Poverty in Canada, Recovery, Respect, Street Outreach, Street Youth, street youth art program, Street Youth in Canada, Street Youth Ottawa · Tagged with
Posted by ken on December 12, 2011 · Leave a Comment
“Rachel’s Gift is an 8 part series until December 23. To listen to the audio backgrounder, click: Rachel’s Gift episode 5 If you missed episodes go to ‘Recent Posts’ (right hand column)..
I was on the streets and my boyfriend took me to some of the drop ins in the city. He took me to the OIM drop in – I didn’t even know there was a drop in there. It was pretty cool.
I came to the OIM office probably about two years ago. It must have been Christmas or something, because the spread you guys had out on the table was awesome. We had lots and lots of food. It was really, really cool.
I started to come to the drop in all the time, and one day Jason [youth outreach worker] came up to me and said, “Hey would you be interested in coming to our youth art program?” When he talked to me, he actually got through to me. It was like, hey, somebody actually cared for me.
The next youth event was the art show at the church. It was really cool. I saw all the stuff the kids were doing, how happy they were, it was really cool. I didn’t know that about them. I knew them from the street but I didn’t know that there was anything like this art group.
There isn’t anything else out there like this.
I started going to the art group all the time. It is so different from the life on the street. The street life is drugs, drugs, and more drugs. At the art group there is something so real, like its real life. I haven’t seen that in a long time, probably ever. It’s just like normal everyday kids. You don’t see normal everyday kids on the streets.
I go to the art group all the time. I look forward to it. When I come to the office on Thursdays (work skills program), I don’t even go back home in case I fall asleep and miss art group. So I just stay downtown until art group.
I am so looking forward to the next art show. I haven’t been able to show any of my art yet. I have a couple of pieces, maybe three. My mom’s really looking forward to coming and my brother too.
It has made a big difference in the last couple of months.
It makes me think, ‘Yeah, I can do this’.
Next Week: Amazed at how she has been accepted into the community, Rachel shares her feelings about finally belonging to a community of caring people.
Filed under ABCD, About OIM, Addictions, Alcoholism, Assets Based Community Development, Breaking the cycle of poverty, Christmas, christmas cheer, Christmas giving, christmas on the streets, creative arts, Dignity, Drop In Services, General Poverty, gift of christmas, homeless christmas, meaning of christmas, Miracle on the Streets, Personal Experiences, Poverty, Poverty in Canada, Recovery, Respect, Street Outreach, Street Youth, street youth art program, Street Youth in Canada, Street Youth Ottawa, systemic poverty canada · Tagged with Addictions, Alcoholism, art therapy, Assets Based Community Development, break cycle poverty, christmas gift, christmas poverty, christmas spirit, Dignity, drop in service, gift of christmas, help the poor, Homelessness, homelessness ontario, homelessness ottawa, living on the streets, Make a diference, poverty Canada, poverty ontario, poverty ottawa, Recovery, Street Outreach, street work, street youth outreach
