As Ottawa slowly shifts from winter’s cold grip into the uncertain warmth of early spring, many of us welcome the change with relief. For our Street Friends, however, this season brings a mix of hope and hardship. Moments of possibility paired with very real risks. And during this transition, your support becomes especially powerful.   The warmer days ahead do offer some comfort. Heavy layers can come off. Frostbite becomes less of a daily threat. For many of our Street Frien

I’ve seen a beautiful display of God’s love at OIM, and God has invited me to be a part of it. I’m humbled and thankful that He has shown me how He seeks to save the lost and how he has a particular love for the one, particularly the overlooked one. In January, we began a new curriculum for the ESL class. It is a more advanced level, taking scripture from Luke about the birth of Jesus and using the written Word for English comprehension. I was excited to have material that di

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