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Jan 16, 2013

Taking time to remember

Yesterday, we held our annual memorial service at drop-in to remember those in our street community who passed away in 2012. Often times...

Jan 14, 2013

You are LATE!!

Four weeks after Christmas and you are late! Yes, we are, with good intention, for several reasons: right around the time of Christmas,...

Jan 11, 2013

Baby Steps…

There’s been no shortage of bad news about homelessness in our city. Ottawa did very poorly on the last Alliance to End Homelessness...

Jan 9, 2013

The Journey

I’m so proud of Tammi! She has had a long time addiction to crack cocaine…somewhere around fifteen years I think. Like many of the...

Jan 7, 2013

“Low Places”

Suzanne comes to the drop-in every week without fail. Her story is similar to many others: she immigrated to Canada several years ago and...

Jan 4, 2013

Cold Toes, Warm Hearts!

It was -27 degrees last night! Sweet merciful crud that’s cold! But the Wednesday night Outreach crew, appropriately bundled up, had a...

Jan 2, 2013

Happy New Year

What a cold start to January! As the temperature drops I am very thankful for my warm coat, gloves and most of all, a warm place to go...

Dec 31, 2012

The Red Mitts

Recently I had the privilege of participating in a One Homeless Night activity with OIM staff (go Moira!) and a group of teens from The...

Oct 26, 2012

Freedom…

This past May, Mark, a long-time member of the art group, was in a terrible accident. He was struck by a car which caused severe head...

Oct 24, 2012

Thanksgiving Dinner at OIM!

As I looked around the room as lunch was in full-swing yesterday, I couldn’t help but feel very blessed to be surrounded by great 39...

May 23, 2012

Kudos!

So last week the Wednesday night group got SOAKED (during that big rainstorm) on our evening walk-around. I mean drenched. I’ve seriously...

May 16, 2012

A clip and a prayer

Leo is one of the ’rounders’ at OIM (‘been around a long time) and comes weekly to catch up and connect with our people. Life was very...

Apr 16, 2012

It’s not really about the jacket

One of the most amazing privileges of working with people is the opportunities we have to build relationships. Over the past years there...

Apr 13, 2012

Who’s really asleep here?

As I write this, you should know that I am really, really angry! I am angry as I witnessed and was even an unwilling participant of...

Apr 12, 2012

The Mundane Is Extraordinary..

“Do you have room for one more?” It was the end of the day at our drop-in and I was getting ready to clean up the foot care station. I...

Apr 3, 2012

God knows what we need..

I can’t help but feel a profound sense of sadness and tragedy some nights during outreach. But, once in a while you stumble upon an...

Mar 21, 2012

Love and Respect

Some of the most down to earth and insightful exchanges I have are during outreach with OIM. Week after week I stop with my fellow OIM...

Mar 16, 2012

Where everybody knows your name

Community: We all crave it. From adults to children, men and women, CEOs to stay-at-home moms, we all want to belong or at least find a...

Jan 5, 2012

Street youth work: What’s that? Really?

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...

Dec 12, 2011

Rachel’s Gift, Episode Five: The Birth of Hope

“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...

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