It was Christmas 1991, and in a homeless shelter a woman staff member was preparing for the holiday.  She was trying to find ways to make Christmas festive for the 67 men who lived there.  Hughie, Horace, Glen, John, Jimmy and the others were mostly older men and alcoholics.  They were often grumpy at this time of year.  Christmas brought back many memories — often involving children and families.

There was little money, but a tree (a real tree) had been donated and it was placed in the dining room and decorated.   Church groups had knit mittens, hats and scarves and dropped them off weeks before.  Some Good Samaritan had donated smokes (a welcome gift at that time).   A small nativity set had been purchased, and the woman knew enough to purchase extra figurines of baby Jesus because the men liked to put Jesus in their pocket, for comfort.

A few days before Christmas, a couple of volunteers came in and wrapped the presents – there were always socks and long underwear in the packages.  The donated turkeys were thawed, local farmers and merchants had donated vegetables, and homemade desserts appeared for the meal.

On Christmas morning, the woman came in for a couple of hours.  She helped serve breakfast and wished everyone a “Merry Christmas”.   The men were looking forward to the Christmas meal and Bill, the regular volunteer, was cheerful and helped to give out presents.  Christmas had come to the shelter, bringing with it joy and hope for a better day.

That woman was me and it was my first Christmas at The Ottawa Mission — the beginning of my long journey with the homeless.   I would like to thank all of you for the wonderful support and compassion you continue to share with me and with this ministry.

May you have a blessed Christmas!  (And who knew that Jesus could live in your pocket?)

Diane Morrison,
Executive Director, The Ottawa Mission

The Christmas season always comes alive very early at The Ottawa Mission. For the past few weeks, I’ve been seeing all types of people coming in with donations of money, clothing, and food to help those staying at the shelter. It never ceases to amaze me when I see the outpouring of generosity from this community. And the help doesn’t go unnoticed by the men staying here either – some of them are facing a Christmas in a shelter for the first time.

A gentleman named Antonio has been here at the Mission for the past 8 months getting help with his addiction to drugs and alcohol. Antonio spent many years as a fire-fighter and was telling me this week, he never thought he’d spend a Christmas at a homeless shelter. He’s doing well in his recovery and expects to move out of The Mission in January – but he’s still too fragile to spend much time with family and friends over the holidays. In fact, Antonio says he’s actually looking forward to spending Christmas at The Ottawa Mission because he knows he’ll be safe and surrounded by staff and other men in the same treatment program who care about his recovery.

People sometimes ask me if The Mission is a depressing place to be over the holidays. I tell them it’s bitter-sweet  It’s true many are struggling with issues like job loss, addiction, and mental illness, but our volunteers, staff and all of you bringing in donations, are showing them that someone cares – and that’s a good feeling.

God bless,
Diane

If someone had told me as a young adult that I was going to grow up and oversee a large urban homeless shelter for more than 20 years, I definitely wouldn’t have believed them.

I also know many people who come through the doors at The Ottawa Mission never thought they would grow up and have to stay at a homeless shelter.
We are all on a journey.

Sometimes a decision is deliberately made that leads us down a certain path and sometimes the circumstances are out of our control – in both cases we pray to God to watch over and guide us. This blog will help us shine the spotlight on some of the journeys we are blessed to be part of at The Ottawa Mission.

Our annual Thanksgiving Dinner has just passed and once again, thanks to generous donors and volunteers we were able to provide hundreds of meals to people from all walks of life – all of them on different journeys.

I used to wonder if the effort to provide a special holiday meal actually felt special to those who came in to The Mission. Then I spotted a little note scribbled on a paper place mat that was on one of the dining room tables. It said “Thank you so much – my son and I have been having a hard time lately, this helped.”  XO Cindy. 
I was silent as I thought of this mother and son and their journey to a homeless shelter – it must have taken courage to come in and courage to write that note.

Sometimes hope takes the form of a plate of good food served among people who care at a homeless shelter.
God bless,

Diane