The Ottawa Mission’s Food Services Training Program provides men and women with the opportunity to learn the skills required to work in a commercial kitchen.
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Late last month hundreds of local runners showed their support for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings by walking as a group from Parliament Hill to the U.S. Embassy where they tied pairs of new and gently used running shoes to the gates of the embassy – to be later distributed to local charities. The Ottawa Mission was one of the beneficiaries of this kind gesture, and the donated shoes are being put to the best possible use.
Saturday, May 18 marks the beginning of this year’s Ottawa Mission “Learn to Run” Club. The intent of this club is to help people served by The Mission focus on their physical well-being. With the support of volunteer coaches, the group will meet every Saturday morning through the spring and summer and walk, jog or run their way back to good health.
Along with the shoes, appropriate clothing and water bottles are also provided to participants thanks to the generosity of our donors. In the past, people who have participated in the club have gone on to embrace running as part of their lifestyle – some even participating in local charity runs, including the Mission Possible Half Marathon which raises funds for The Ottawa Mission.
Food, shelter, clothing, medical services, education and job training, housing and spiritual support – this club is just one more way that The Ottawa Mission strives to help people makes changes that will mean a better life. We sincerely thank all of those who give their time and support to this great initiative.
Photo: Chris Mikula/Ottawa Citizen. Used with permission.
Most of the people who come to The Ottawa Mission have no desire to spend time at a homeless shelter. They are just like you and me – they have families, and have had homes and jobs in the past. The difference is that circumstances in their lives have left many of them sick and hurting − without a home, without work, without hope. Their priority is to get their life back on track – and that means getting the help they need and, when they are able, finding a job.
The Ottawa Mission has a number of programs to support people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness who want to rejoin the workforce. Our Client Services Centre offers phone and computer access and workshops on resume writing. The Stepping Stones Learning Centre has a full-time teacher who helps people upgrade their education – working on-line to achieve a high school diploma, or accessing college and university courses. Our 5-month Food Services Training Program gives people the opportunity to gain valuable skills working with professional staff in our kitchen. Many graduates have gone on to pursue careers in the food services industry.
The latest program to be introduced at The Mission is the Custodial Skills Training Program. Developed in 2012 in partnership with the City of Ottawa and the Ottawa Catholic School Board, this 8-week program includes classroom and on-the-job training. The first class wrapped up in March, and we are pleased to announce that 13 of the 15 students are now employed.
The success of the first Custodial Training Program session speaks for itself. It has given thirteen people renewed hope – and a chance at a better life.
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This week we honour a group of people who help The Ottawa Mission in so many ways. Those people are volunteers.
Each month, close to 250 people give the gift of their time – individuals, families and groups − not only in the kitchen, but in our clothing room, library, computer lab, medical and dental clinics, and in so many other ways.
Many volunteers come down by themselves but we also see groups coming together to share the experience of helping people in need. One such group is here this week to serve a special sit-down lunch.
For the past three years, TELUS Community Ambassadors have been coming to The Mission a few times a year to serve meals to people who are hungry and in need. They are back this week and then next month, TELUS employees will be at The Mission serving lunch for the company’s Annual Day of Giving on May 24th. TELUS also generously provides the funds to put towards food for these meals.
As TELUS Vice-President Michael Sangster says, “TELUS fosters a corporate culture that offers team members opportunities to make a positive difference in the communities where we live, work and serve.” Here at The Ottawa Mission we are thankful to be one of the beneficiaries of this wonderful philosophy.
Volunteers are the lifeblood of any non-profit organization, and here at The Mission we know that we simply would not survive without them. We are privileged to have such caring, committed volunteers – we are blessed that our work and the lives of those we serve is important to so many in our community.
Thank you to TELUS – and to all of our volunteers – for all that you do.
Many different types of people walk through the doors of The Ottawa Mission every day. Some need medical help or addiction treatment. Others are facing day to day challenges that they can’t overcome on their own, and need food, a place to sleep, and some basic help to get back on their feet. Benoit is one such person.
Benoit first came to The Ottawa Mission in 1999 out of work, hungry and homeless. He stayed at the shelter for several months and with help from staff was able to find a job and move out on his own. Even after he left the shelter, he still relied on The Mission for his meals, as do so many people living on limited incomes.
Recently, Benoit hit another rough patch in his life, and he turned once again to The Mission because he knew he would be welcomed here and would find the help he needed. He is staying at the shelter, working hard with our staff to find affordable housing, and has meetings set up with potential employers.
Benoit appreciates all of the gifts of hope he has received at The Mission over the years. As he says, “I know I can rely on The Mission if I really need help, and I’m thankful to all those who donate for their support of this special place.”
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By John Stoesser, OTTAWA CITIZEN April 1, 2013
OTTAWA — Volunteers served up an Easter dinner of roast beef at the Ottawa Mission on Monday afternoon to anyone in need of a good meal. Every day for the past week, about 20 helpers channelled the spirit of giving and prepared gallons of gravy, baked thousands of potatoes, sliced up hundreds of pies and cooked more than 1,000 kilograms of roast beef.
Over a six-hour period, 2,352 meals were served during the annual feast.
Mary Hall’s favourite part wasn’t just the roast beef, but also the conversation.
“It’s great that (the volunteers) really put a lot of effort into the meal,” she said. “But I don’t
come just for the food, but for the camaraderie too. It’s no fun eating alone and amazing what sharing a meal with people can do for your spirits.”
The mission’s food services manager of 11 years, Ric Watson, says he could be working in a restaurant or a hotel, but his current duties are more fulfilling.
“It’s a cause close to my heart,” Watson said. “You spend a day here helping people and you don’t want to leave. I’ve been in bad situations before and people were always there to help me. This is my way of giving back.”
Three hours into the meal and the volunteers had already provided more than a thousand plates of food. Throughout this hectic atmosphere, no one seemed stressed or agitated and the amount of laughter far outnumbered any frowns.
Watson said the best part was seeing families and children smile as they enjoyed a good holiday meal they might not otherwise have had.
In existence since 1906, the Ottawa Mission shelters an average of 255 men a night and also provides meals, job training and addiction treatment for those in need. The mission relied on donations to provide the Easter meal.
Rita McCartney, a volunteer of five years, was plating food in the bustling kitchen. After moving to Canada from Belfast in 1974, McCartney, a retired financial planner, said she’s always volunteered because “it’s an amazing feeling being able to help.”
“Hard luck, like losing a job, could happen to anyone,” she said. “I think you get a sense of how homelessness actually affects people when you work at a place like this.”
McCartney said she could just as easily be on the other side of the counter.
After admitting to finishing his third dessert, Joseph Taaffe said he lives on about $700 a month and feels lucky because “some people don’t even have that.”
“The staff are very friendly, very respectful and make it very comfortable to come here,” he said.
Market researcher and volunteer Melanie Clement added to the ambience with some live entertainment. A one-woman act, she put her singing talents to use with tunes like John Lennon’s Imagine.
Special servers from Ottawa City Hall, the Ottawa Police Service and former a NHLer, Jim Kyte,
also lent a hand
Close to 2800 meals are expected to be served at Easter dinner at The Ottawa Mission on Easter Monday, April 1. The people who come in for those meals will include many who are homeless and living in shelters, families living in poverty, and many men and women who are alone and looking for fellowship over the holidays.
All are welcome at The Ottawa Mission, and sometimes what begins as a meal can become – in the spirit of the Easter season – a chance for hope and renewal.
Steve came to our Easter dinner two years ago. He was staying in the shelter at the time and trying to come to terms with his long term addiction. He was participating in our 5-month residential treatment program LifeHouse, but was struggling to remain sober.
When donors send gifts for our Easter dinner, we ask them to sign and return a placemat that will be used to add a special touch to the occasion. Two years ago, when Steve sat down to his meal, he was inspired by the message of hope and encouragement on his placemat. This simple gesture – the fact that someone he didn’t even know cared enough to write a message – gave Steve the boost he needed, just when he needed it most.
Since then, Steve has not only successfully completed his treatment program, but he has gone on to graduate from our Food Services Training Program, is working in The Mission’s kitchen, and will be returning to college to further his education in the food services field.
This is just one of many examples of how the generosity and compassion of our donors can change lives.
God bless you and Happy Easter.
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Posted Mar 7, 2013 By Blair Edwards
EMC sports – It’s 9 a.m. on a Friday morning at the Bell Sensplex and Barb Gray waits anxiously in the hallway of the Bell Sensplex.
In less than half an hour she and her Freedom 55 Financial teammates will play their first game in the Hockey Helps the Homeless tournament, sharing the ice with Canadian Women’s Hockey League players Haley Irwin and Carolyne Prevost.
This is Gray’s second year competing in the charity hockey tournament.
“I played last year. It was probably one of the best experiences in hockey in the 10-plus years I’ve played recreational hockey,” she said. “It was a real treat to share the locker room on the ice with two women hockey pros: Caroline Ouellette and Anne-Sophie Bettez.”
The players were all treated like professionals as soon as they showed up at the rink, said Gray, with tournament volunteers collecting their equipment bags at the front doors and all participants receiving professionally-stitched jerseys.
It was also nice to know the money raised at the tournament would help some of the city’s most vulnerable citizens, with the funds going to the Ottawa Mission and Ottawa Innercity Ministries, she said.
“It was very worthwhile to get an in-depth understanding of the needs of the community,” Gray said.
Amanda Shaw, a defenceman with the CWHL Toronto Furies, greeted participants at the door of the Sensplex for the March 1 tournament, helping organizers with registration.
“I was part of the very first (Hockey Helps the Homeless) women’s event, which was in Toronto,” she said. “It’s an amazing cause.”
The tournament helps educate people about some of the causes of homelessness, such as mental illness and abusive home environments, she added.
“I think it’s really important to get the word out about homelessness in the community.”
THIRD-ANNUAL EVENT
Hockey Helps the Homeless is an annual event played in major cities across Canada. It allows hockey enthusiasts to play three games on a team with National Hockey League and CWHL alumni, such as former Ottawa Senators Laurie Boschman and Brad Marsh.
Eight men’s teams and six women’s teams suited up for the third annual Ottawa tournament.
For a $150 registration fee, participants received a team jersey with their name on the back and an invitation to a dinner and a silent auction.
In addition, every participant was expected to fundraise a minimum of $150.
Every year, the event raises between $150,000 to $200,000 in each of the participating cities such as Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, with 35 per cent of the money used to pay cost of running the tournaments.
At the Ottawa tournament, each team played three games with a championship final at the end of the day for both the men’s and women’s sides.
The event also featured a game between the NHL alumni versus the CWHL pros.
The Ottawa tournament almost didn’t happen last year. Organizers were forced to postpone the event because of a lack of interest from participants and volunteers.
But interest in the tournament picked up after the media reported on the charity’s organizing problems, with several volunteers stepping forward, including Kanata’s Dave Edgecomb, cochairman of last year’s event.
This year’s co-chairperson is Judy Thompson, a former chairwoman of the HOPE volleyball charity tournament and several other charities.
Thompson said she decided to volunteer when she heard about the tournament’s organizing difficulties in the media.
“Ottawa’s a very generous town,” she said. “We have a lot of volunteers.”
This year, Thompson and co-chairman Mike Coughlin headed up a team of eight core volunteers to organize the tournament and 25 event-day volunteers.
This year’s tournament is expected to raise more than $110,000, said Thompson. The final numbers weren’t immediately available.
Most of the money is collected through registration fees and individual fundraising, with a smaller amount coming from corporate sponsorship.
“We’re certainly over the $100,000 mark,” she said. “It’s a great day for a great cause.”
HOMELESSNESS
Organizers were hoping to raise $150,000 at this year’s event, with the money going to support the Ottawa Mission and Ottawa Innercity Ministries. Last year’s tournament raised $106,000.
Almost 8,000 people used Ottawa shelters in 2011, said Ken MacLaren, executive director of Ottawa Innercity Ministries.
Organizers of the tournament estimate there are between 150,000 and 300,000 homeless people in Canada, with children and young families comprising a growing segment of the homeless population.
“It’s going up,” he said. “There’s been an increase in the number of youth, the number of children and the number of single-parent families. I think the economy has something to do with it.”
Ottawa Innercity Ministries received $8,000 last year from the tournament, using the money for its Passion for Youth art program.
A group of 20 youth – many with experience living on the street – participated in the program and their work was put on display at an art show and auction.
“We’re looking to build self esteem in kids,” said MacLaren. “We also work with them with volunteer mentors.”
The mentors help the youth participants realize personal goals such as completing high school or getting a job.
The Ottawa Mission used its share of the funds raised by last year’s tournament for its food services training program, buying classroom supplies and textbooks.
Hockey Helps the Homeless also raises awareness about the problem of homelessness in Ottawa, said Shirley Roy, a spokesperson for the Ottawa Mission.
“It draws in people who might not come down to the shelter,” she said. “Hockey Helps the Homeless is a great community event to educate people about some of the issues surrounding homelessness.”
