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Oct 30, 2019

The 52-Hertz Whale

Have you ever met someone who is just amazing at remembering names? That person who you met once 3 years ago, who remembers your name as ...

Mar 29, 2019

Resilient Heroes

Resiliency is the ability to recovery readily after being bent or stretched from adversity. I have about 50 heroes in my life; all of whi...

Mar 20, 2019

10 Years of Innercity Arts

As we near the 10th anniversary of Innercity Arts, I wanted to look back on how the program came about. I recently spoke with Jason Pino,...

Sep 17, 2018

Community BBQ

Our Administrative Assistant, Gaby, is normally busy working at the office. But recently, she had the opportunity to visit our drop-in o...

Jun 14, 2018

Even The ‘Unlovable’

I’m not talking about the stories of trauma, tragedy or loss which I have – sadly – come to expect. No, I’m talking about something a li...

Apr 7, 2018

Taking Time To Notice

And yet, they are all there with the same message: “I want your attention.” The reward in the discovery of a “blur” is like a box waiting...

Mar 1, 2018

An Unexpected Encounter

I want to share a short, but quite wonderful, blessing I received from my street-engaged friend named ‘Bob.’ When you are on the streets,...

Oct 13, 2017

The Bob Series: Marginalized survivors

Note: To protect the identity of the people I write about, I have chosen to use the name ‘Bob’ in the following piece… All of the people...

Sep 14, 2017

THE ‘BOB’ SERIES: Somebody see me

I wanted to share today about a gentle soul that I have been blessed to serve on several occasions. Bob has never responded to me except ...

Aug 1, 2017

Canadian Stone Carving Festival

On July 21-23, thirty-five stone carvers gathered on Ottawa’s historic Sparks Street for the Canadian Stone Carving Festival. Each was gi...

Jun 14, 2017

Stone Carving Workshop

Innercity Arts was lucky enough to have Patrick Imai, a local carver, volunteer his time to come in to teach us about soap stone carving....

Mar 15, 2017

The Portrait of the Artist

“Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter. The sitter is merely the accident, the occas...

Sep 16, 2016

Fabric Art

Last week, local artist and OIM volunteer Ruth Allison did a workshop with the youth at Innercity Arts. She talked to the youth about her...

Aug 10, 2016

What Is Small Is Big

I was reminded of this the other day when a former client called us from Toronto to catch up. She and her husband moved from Ottawa to T...

Apr 9, 2015

Easter Reflections

He grew up on a native reserve, where the cruel history of the church was ever-present. For Allan, the church building was not a safe spa...

Sep 11, 2014

Something About a Name

Every Tuesday, each week, we have our drop-in. I am sure by now many of you know what that is but let me explain for those who don’t. Fro...

Aug 28, 2014

“I’m so glad you’re open today”

We had to close our drop-in for a few weeks this summer due to a scheduling conflict with the church we use. I missed seeing our regular ...

Jul 2, 2014

The Light – P4Y Poetry

There is a new youth who has been coming to art group recently. I met him on outreach a few years ago and I discovered that from a young ...

Mar 14, 2014

Mentorship

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” ― Benjamin Franklin Mentorship is one of the most important...

Jan 30, 2014

Staff Perspective: A Night to Remember

A few weeks ago I was walking home from work when something very memorable happened. It was a crisp evening with the streets bustling wit...

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