No power, then what? Everyone has heard the line "Where were you when the lights went out?" Have you really thought about that? In 1998, Ottawa experienced an ice storm, which shut down parts of the city for days at a time. Some locations lost power for a week or longer. I’m sure everyone remembers where they were when that happened. Recently, a blackout happened at OIM that made me think of it again. Back in 1998, it was January and cold. On this particular night wasn’t as c

As I was wondering what to write about for this week’s blog, a moment from the past month came to mind. This “moment” actually began at OIM’s Christmas meal back in early January. I was volunteering as a server, and a man wearing sunglasses (I will call him “Mark”) sat down at the table assigned to me. I served him his turkey dinner and some juice, and since the initial rush of diners had slowed, I sat down to talk with him. Mark kept his sunglasses on at first, apologizing a

Three weeks ago, a long-time street friend of OIM came to the Thursday Winter Wear Program. I knew this gentleman and spent time chatting with him, listening to his latest thinking about the problems in the world. During the conversation, he shared a pressing need that he had – the need for another pair of rubber overshoes. It was then that I looked at what he was wearing on his feet. He did have rubber overshoes, but they were being held together with duct tape, and even wit

As the post-Christmas ‘Blahs’ set in and we trudge through January and February towards an eventual spring thaw and Easter Resurrection of hope and redemption, I am reminded of how difficult it is to bear up and to maintain ones’ good cheer and good spirits in the face of the ongoing onslaught of freezing cold temperatures, snow, and the perennial litany of bad news which emanates from the media. But that said, ORH continues to keep its head above water with the provision of