Warm hearts to start the New Year

2014 has been ushered into Ottawa by Mother Nature’s bone-chilling weather. This extreme cold makes life more difficult for the men staying at The Ottawa Mission’s emergency shelter. The limited space inside the shelter becomes a little more crowded, getting out in the community to search for jobs and housing becomes a little harder for people staying here,  and the daily requests for warm winter clothing go up.

But there is a silver lining to the cold start of this New Year.  It has resulted, once again, in an outpouring of generosity from the community. It started in the weeks leading up to Christmas and continues still, with people from all walks of life bringing in warm coats, boots, toques and gloves for the men staying at the shelter.  The clothing room is now well stocked for this latest cold snap – our thanks to everyone who brought in donations.

“I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t been able to get a pair of winter boots from the Mission’s clothing room”, says Steve, a resident at The Ottawa Mission for the past 3 weeks. “I saw someone pull up and drop off a box of boots and coats yesterday at The Mission’s Front Desk, and it actually gave me a warm feeling – like someone really cares about me and  the other guys staying here”.

On behalf of Steve and all the others at The Ottawa Mission making good use of the warm winter clothing donations, we thank you and send you our wishes for a happy, healthy and peaceful 2014.