Author Archives: The Ottawa Mission

Twelve years ago, 28 year-old Sammy was a newcomer to Canada seeking political asylum and a better life. He spoke very little English, and was struggling to find work.

Sammy was visiting an employment office one day and saw a poster advertising The Ottawa Mission’s Food Services Training Program (FSTP). He had experience as a cook, so he called us right away. He wound up speaking directly to Chef Ric Watson, The Mission’s Manager of Food Services, and his amazing journey began.

In Sammy, Chef Ric saw a young man who was sincere in his desire to work hard and succeed in life. For this reason, even though the current FSTP class was already full and underway, Chef made an exception for Sammy and admitted him to the program. True to form, Sammy excelled.

During his 5 months in FSTP Sammy also managed to spend a lot of his spare time at our Stepping Stones Learning Centre improving his English – with the ultimate goals of achieving his Grade 12 equivalency – which he did, and then completing the 2-year Culinary Management course at Algonquin College – which he also did! The Mission stood by Sammy, offering encouragement and support, for every step of his journey – even assisting with paperwork to allow his wife to join him in Canada.

Sammy has been working with the same local food services company since completing FSTP – and he, his wife, and their two Canadian born children enjoy a very good life in Ottawa. As Sammy says, “Twelve years ago, people at The Mission opened their hearts to me. They inspired me every day to keep going and achieve my dream. They will always be a part of my life.”

On April 27,2018  a letter to the editor of the Globe and Mail by our Executive Director Peter Tilley was published in response to an article within that newspaper, which appears below.

Ontario’s Cities Need A New Approach To Homelessness (April 25): Janet Mason writes that “Simply building more traditional shelter beds in response to last year’s crisis will institutionalize homelessness in our society. People will be warehoused without access to services or a path out of chronic homelessness.”

Ontario shelters offer many programs that address the root causes of homelessness and enable clients to rebuild their lives. In addition to sheltering an average of 233 men every night and providing more than 1,300 meals every day, at the Ottawa Mission we provide health services, mental health and addiction treatment programs, hospice care, dental services, educational support, job training, second stage housing, spiritual care, and clothing to thousands in need.

Shelters are not “warehouses.” They are an essential part of the solution to homelessness.

Peter Tilley,
Executive Director
The Ottawa Mission

April 15-21 marks National Volunteer Week – a time to recognize, celebrate and thank Canada’s 12.7 million volunteers, including some very special people we see every week at The Ottawa Mission. Our dedicated army of volunteers – an average of 250 a week! – help to care for hundreds of people every day of the year at our shelter.

We’d like to thank you, dear volunteers, for all that you do.

You feed the hungry, by helping to prepare and serve an average of 1,308 meals every day, and by giving us great support at our special holiday dinners at Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

You help organize and distribute hundreds of items of clothing, bringing warmth and a sense of pride to people who have so little.

You bring smiles to the faces of those who often have little to smile about, by pitching in to help with bingo and movie nights, or by dropping by to play cards or cribbage.

And you do so much more…

You come by yourself, with your family, or your church, school groups, or co-workers. You give the precious gift of your time. But what this really means is that you are giving the gifts of kindness, compassion and hope to so many who would otherwise feel forgotten – and these gifts are priceless.

God bless you all!

MEDIA ADVISORY FOR MONDAY, APRIL 2, 2018

When: On Easter Monday, April 2^nd from 11:15 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Ottawa Mission will serve more than 2500 meals to men, women and children in our community who are hungry and have few options for a nutritious and shared meal. Our goal is to ensure that anyone who is in need is provided with a special Easter dinner. Many dignitaries have accepted the Ottawa Mission’s invitation to act as special servers for the event, including elected officials of the House of Commons, the Provincial Legislature, and City Council.

Where: Entrance to The Ottawa Mission’s dining room is at 53 Daly Ave.
Note: In order to preserve the privacy of clients who do not wish to appear in media stories, photographs and video will be confined to 2 tables within The Ottawa Mission’s dining room.

Who: Interviews available with Peter Tilley, Executive Director, The Ottawa Mission.

Please visit the following link for more information:  https://twitter.com/OttawaMission?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Since 1906, The Ottawa Mission has served the homeless, the hungry and the lost by providing food, clothing, shelter and hope. In 2017, The Ottawa Mission provided shelter to an average of 233 men every night and served an average of 1,308 meals every day to men and women. The Ottawa Mission also provides health services, including primary care, mental health and addiction treatment programs, hospice care, and dental services, as well as educational support and job training, spiritual care, and men’s clothing to thousands in need in our community.

FOR INFORMATION OR TO ARRANGE AN INTERVIEW, PLEASE CONTACT:

Ottawa Mission

Aileen Leo
Director of Communications
T: (613) 234-1144 x 305
C: (613) 712-3092
e-mail: aleo@ottawamission.com

#EasterMondayDinner
#HappyEaster
#OttawaMission

The Ottawa Mission
The Salvation Army
The Shepherds of Good Hope

March 5, 2018

The Ottawa Mission, Shepherds of Good Hope and The Salvation Army serve many of the most vulnerable people throughout our City who are either experiencing homelessness or at risk of experiencing homelessness due to physical or mental health conditions, poverty, or other factors. We also serve many who are not clients of our emergency shelters, but who come to us for support because their current situation forces them to choose between paying rent, buying food or clothing their families.

Together, we provide programs and services that save lives and contribute to the overall health of our community, including:

• health services including such as primary care, mental health and addictions, medical, and hospice care;
• emergency, transitional, and supportive housing;
• emergency food and community meals;
• job training and employment services;
• clothing.

Our staff members are all professionally trained, and we also rely on the support of hundreds of dedicated and compassionate volunteers. We are all publicly accountable institutions and report back regularly to the community on our work.

We are proud of the work we do to meet the daily needs of many of the most vulnerable in our community and are proud of the role we play in supporting both the ByWard Market and the City of Ottawa.

Thuraya and her family made the move to Ottawa from Jordan just over a year ago in search of a better life. Her first priority was to find a job, but she ran into the same roadblock experienced by many people – the difficulty of finding work without Canadian experience. Thuraya met with a counsellor at a local community association and when she talked about her passion for cooking she was referred to The Ottawa Mission’s Food Services Training Program (FSTP). She applied, was accepted, and so began her new life!

Thuraya says she learned many new practical skills working in The Mission’s industrial-sized kitchen for five months – from knife skills to proper food handling. But over and above this, the people at The Mission who run the program – Chef Ric and his crew – were very understanding. “They really want you to learn and succeed, and they were very patient and took the time to make sure that I got the help I needed.”

Thuraya graduated from the FSTP this past December and by then she already had a job!

On top of this, she’s working with staff at The Mission’s Stepping Stones Learning Centre to obtain her High School diploma, and she plans to continue her culinary training at the college level.

Thuraya says, “I would like to thank everyone at The Mission and all the people who support this wonderful program! It’s made a big difference in my life, and my family and I are very grateful.”

Cory was just 15 years old when he began his long struggle with addiction. He’s 36 now, and after many attempts at rehab over the years, he finally feels like he has turned the corner thanks to The Ottawa Mission.

Cory entered The Mission’s LifeHouse program last August. LifeHouse is an off-site residential facility that offers five months of intensive addiction and trauma treatment.

For Cory, so many aspects of LifeHouse seemed to make a difference for him. The environment itself, and the exceptional care and compassion he received made him feel safe and secure for the first time in years. And he found the strong focus on dealing with trauma not only innovative, but a very important part of his healing. He says that a lot of effort is put into “figuring out what works for you as an individual. The whole experience was life-changing for me.”

During his time at LifeHouse, Cory also started working on his future. His goal is to become a social worker, so he consulted with our on-site teacher who put him in touch with a career counsellor at Algonquin College. He had all the pre-requisites he needed to apply for their Social Worker program and is expecting to hear about his acceptance in March. And he has his sights set on eventually obtaining a Master’s Degree.

Cory graduated from LifeHouse, is nine months sober, and is living in one of The Mission’s 2nd Stage transitional houses while he continues his recovery. He volunteers at another local shelter, and is happy, motivated, and very hopeful.

As Cory says, “I will be forever grateful to The Mission for their amazing support, and I know now that life can be good!” We wish you all the best, Cory.

Paul is a gentle person whose love of God, and his fellow human beings, shines through in all that he does. He is certified as both a Pastoral Care Worker and a Palliative Care Worker and we, at The Ottawa Mission, are benefitting from his expertise in both areas.

Paul has given the gift of his time every week for the past few years as a volunteer at The Mission’s Hospice. He visits with people who are chronically ill or in palliative care, and each visit is as unique as the individual. Sometimes he prays with them, sometimes he brings magazines and other items they have requested, but many, many times he just listens. And in listening, he says, he often gains new insights that help him in his own life and enrich his faith.

When asked what brought him to The Mission as a volunteer, Paul candidly shares that he is 35 years into his own recovery journey. His empathy for the people served by The Mission is grounded in his own personal experience, in his gratitude for his life, and in his desire to give back. As Paul says, “If I make one spark of a difference, then I have done my job.” And, in fact, The Mission is just one of many organizations that Paul gives his time to as a volunteer.

Supported and coached by his “wonderful wife Lise” – herself a Palliative Care nurse – Paul has carved a special place in the community, at The Ottawa Mission, and in the hearts of the people he helps. Thank you, Paul, for all that you do.

Ottawa-born Jeff is friendly, gracious, and has some interesting stories to share about his life. In his younger days, he spent time on the stage in Toronto – appearing in such productions as “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat” and “Godspell”. He then embarked on a career in food services managing and serving in restaurants in several Canadian cities.

Later on in life, Jeff sometimes struggled, and when he had nowhere else to turn, he would stay with us at The Ottawa Mission. He knew he was always welcome here.

Recently Jeff became seriously ill. At 56, he was living alone and when he could no longer take care of himself, the first place he thought of was The Mission’s Hospice. The Hospice is a 21-bed facility attached to the shelter that offers 24 hour care to chronically and terminally ill men and women in need, and the beds are usually all occupied. Thankfully for Jeff, there was room for him when he needed it.

Jeff moved into the Hospice a couple of months ago, and since then he has begun to feel better. He says the Hospice is a very special place. Beyond being clean and bright, and having good food, it’s the staff who make all the difference. In his words, “I am often overwhelmed with gratitude for the care I’m receiving here. The nurses are fantastic – they are very knowledgeable, kind and compassionate. Anyone who is struggling should know that the doors at The Ottawa Mission are always open.”

Jeff hopes to be well enough to return to living in the community in the spring, and when he does, our thoughts and prayers will go with him.

A welder by trade, Joel turned to The Ottawa Mission because he was unemployed, couldn’t find a job, and had nowhere to live. He has since been working with our client services team who are helping him develop a good resume and navigate job opportunities, and his search is well underway. But he still needs our support – and he knows that, thanks to your generosity, our doors will be open for as long as it takes for him to get back on his feet.

In the meantime, something magical has happened in Joel’s life thanks to a program managed by The Mission called Discovery University (Discovery U).

Discovery U allows people who are homeless or living on a low income to participate in non-credit, university-level Humanities and Social Sciences courses at no cost. Thanks to a partnership between The Mission, University of Ottawa, Saint Paul University, Carleton University and First Baptist Church, the courses are taught by university professors and all textbooks and course materials are provided at no cost to the students.

Joel had what he calls a “dormant passion” for photography, so when he found out about a10-week Digital Photography course at Discovery U, he jumped at the chance to take part. This past December, Joel graduated with great praise from his instructors, some of his work has already been published, and it’s also proudly on display at The Mission!

As Joel says, “Discovery U has given me the gift of self-confidence, and I am more determined than ever to find a full time job and to further my education in photography at the college level.” Joel has found hope for a much better future, and we are confident that his dreams can come true. Good luck Joel!