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Mar 5, 2020

Who’s in your “Love Army”?

Who’s In Your “Love Army?” Not all family comes from a place of birth. Often those situations can be traumatic, painful and unhealthy. If we take a minute to pause we can notice in our lives that we’ve all experienced trauma. However, to some it just looks really different. Day after day my heart fills with awe at how a community can create love and purpose in the lives of others who would not otherwise receive it. Here’s a question worth taking a moment to ponder an answer…

Dec 16, 2019

Advent Stories: Love

This time of year, Christians around the world will be celebrating advent, a time of expectant waiting for Christmas. Come with us as we journey through advent together, listening to stories from those in our programs as they explore Hope, Faith, Love and Peace. LOVE We met Larissa 3 years ago. She’d gone through a lot in her short life, including spending much of her teen years on the streets. Yet, she has a spark in her that just won’t go out – despite all she has been thou

Dec 9, 2015

Eric’s Journey, Episode 3: Drugs Owned My Life

“Eric’s Journey” is a 7 part series running throughout December. To listen to the audio backgrounder from Family Radio CHRI, click the play button below. Follow along all month to hear this amazing story! Eric Continues His Story. . . Eric in 2011 “Drugs were the biggest part of my life. Everything revolved around drugs. Panhandling for money for drugs. Stealing for drugs. Doing whatever I could to get more drugs. They owned my life. Drugs messed up my life. I had some part-t

Dec 7, 2015

Eric’s Journey, Episode 2: Throughout School and then Through WITH School

“Eric’s Journey” is a 7 part series running throughout December. To listen to the audio backgrounder from Family Radio CHRI, click the play button below. Follow along all month to hear this amazing story! Eric Continues His Story…. “One of the places I lived growing up was near the RCMP stables. One of my friends lived there and one day he talked me into trying pot. When I did I found it was so amazing. Suddenly, I found something to bring me happiness. It didn’t take long un

Dec 2, 2015

Eric’s Journey, Episode 1: Early Life

“Eric’s Journey” is a 7 part series running throughout December. To listen to the audio backgrounder from Family Radio CHRI, click the play button below. Follow along all month to hear this amazing story! Eric Tells His Story…. One of my first memories I went through a series of treatments until finally I remember them saying you’re not going to get this kind of cancer again. It’s hard for me to remember, it is hard for me to focus my speech. My parents separated when I was s

Jan 9, 2014

New Perspective on Home

I attend St. Albans Anglican Church in downtown Ottawa. We are lucky to have space in the midst of both the Market, nearby Centretown, and Sandy Hill. We feel as though we are surrounded by busy city life, with event constantly taking place and people coming and going. It also means our church body lives with neighbours experiencing poverty and homelessness, in fact our church body, itself, has members who find themselves living in shelters or on the streets. It is a stark re

Dec 30, 2013

“Tessa’s Home” (postcript): The Future

Tessa’s Home is an 8 part series that ran from November 28 to December 27th. To listen to the audio backgrounders and accompanying blogs, click “Recent Posts” on the right sidebar. Here is Tessa vision for her future. Please help us tell Tessa’s story through your social media connections, Facebook and Twitter. Comments welcome! #TessasHome Tessa talks about the future… Now, I’m starting to transition. I’ve taken the Urban Intervention Training and I’m starting to transiti

Dec 23, 2013

“Tessa’s Home” Episode 8: Merry Christmas and Thank you

Tessa’s Home is an 8 part series running until December 27th. To listen to the audio backgrounder from CHRI, click below. Miss previous episodes? Click “Recent Posts” on the right sidebar. Please help us tell Tessa’s story through your social media connections, Facebook and Twitter. Comments welcome! #TessasHome Tessa tells her story… What I wish for Christmas is that people would come together and realize how much we need each other. I want to thank OIM for being there when

Dec 18, 2013

“Tessa’s Home” Episode 7: A Real Home for Christmas

Tessa’s Home is an 8 part series running until December 27th. To listen to the audio backgrounder from family radio CHRI, click below. Miss previous episodes? Click “Recent Posts” on the right sidebar. Please help us tell Tessa’s story through your social media connections, Facebook and Twitter. Comments welcome! #TessasHome Tessa tells her story… What’s home like now? I went from being homeless, to getting into a rooming house, to an apartment. Now I have a condo. It’s no

Dec 16, 2013

“Tessa’s Home” Episode 6: Passion 4 Youth Art Program – OIM is Home

Tessa’s Home is an 8 part series running until December 27th. To listen to the audio backgrounder from CHRI, click below. Miss previous episodes? Click “Recent Posts” on the right sidebar. Please help us tell Tessa’s story through your social media connections, Facebook and Twitter. Comments welcome! #TessasHome Tessa continues… When I started going to OIM’s art group, I was hooked. Their mentors, and goal focused environment helped me to gain a home, get my children back, a

Dec 11, 2013

“Tessa’s Home” Episode 5: The Birth of Hope

Tessa’s Home is an 8 part series running until December 27th. To listen to the audio backgrounder on CHRI radio, click below. Miss previous episodes? Click “Recent Posts” on the right sidebar. Please help us tell Tessa’s story through your social media connections, Facebook and Twitter. Comments welcome! #TessasHome Tessa continues her story… I got into housing right after, but my place wasn’t that great. It was my ‘place’, but it wasn’t my home – I’d been in and out of ‘pla

Dec 9, 2013

“Tessa’s Home” Episode 4: Disappointments on the Way Home

Tessa’s Home is an 8 part series running until December 27th. To listen to the audio backgrounder from CHRI, click below. Miss previous episodes? Click “Recent Posts” on the right sidebar. Please help us tell Tessa’s story through your social media connections, Facebook and Twitter. Comments welcome! #TessasHome Tessa’s continues her story…. After my dad died, my head was really messed up because of it and I ended up hitchhiking across Canada. At this time, I was 17 years ol

Dec 4, 2013

“Tessa’s Home” Episode 3: Life on the Streets, Shelters and Drugs

Tessa’s Home is an 8 part series running until December 27th. To listen to the audio backgrounder from CHRI, click below. Miss previous episodes? Click “Recent Posts” on the right sidebar. Please help us tell Tessa’s story through your social media, Facebook and Twitter. Comments welcome! #TessasHome Here is Tessa’s story in her own words…. One guy took me in (and also molested me), let me stay at his house actually burned my hair with Axe hair spray and a lighter. That’s w

Dec 2, 2013

“Tessa’s Home” Episode 2: More About ‘Home’

Tessa’s Home is an 8 part series running until December 27th. To listen to the audio backgrounder from CHRI , click below. Miss previous episodes? Click “Recent Posts” on the right sidebar. Please help us tell Tessa’s story through your social media connections, Facebook and Twitter. Comments welcome! #TessasHome Here is Tessa’s story in her own words…. I remember I had to go to CHEO, ‘cause I tried to commit suicide when I was like ten years old, and tried again when I was

Nov 28, 2013

“Tessa’s Home”, Episode 1: My First ‘Home’

Tessa’s Home is an 8 part series running until December 27th. To listen to the audio backgrounder from family radio CHRI, click below. Please help us spread Tessa’s story through your social media, Facebook and Twitter. Comments welcome! #TessasHome Here is Tessa’s story in her own words…. My earliest memories? I remember we went on a camping trip in a tent trailer when I was three. I remember my brother catching a fish. We put it on the BBQ and it flopped off – we thought

Nov 25, 2013

Social Structures and the Up-coming Passion 4 Youth Art Show

For the past three months I have had the absolute pleasure of working with the young artists involved in OIM’s Passion 4 Youth art program. They have been collaborating with me on a research project addressing the role of structural violence in their lives, that is to say, the lives of young street engaged people. This means that we have been talking about the experiences they have had where parts of society create suffering and cause them harm. Examples of the aspects of

Nov 21, 2013

A Special heARTfelt Thursday: Sneak Peek!

Texture, colour, pattern, meaning… OIM is excited to extend an invitation to friends and community members for the up-coming Passion 4 Youth art show. The Passion 4 Youth artists have been hard at work this Fall to create pieces that explore the idea of violence and social structures. Each artist has created an art piece that represents a major structure in our city that has had a positive or negative influence on their lives. From the perspective of a street-engaged youth, w

Aug 29, 2013

heARTfelt Thursdays: I Just Need Somebody to Lean On

“In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.” -Albert Schweitzer Grace is a very bright person, you can see it as soon as you meet her; it is in her smile, her abundant laughter, and especially her kindness. Now, Grace is not technically a street youth, to our knowledge she has never lived on the streets, but she is at

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