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I was just walking down Metcalfe Street, on my way

to the main branch of the Ottawa Public Library,

when I saw a woman wearing a shirt that said,

“Grow through what you go through”, illustrated

with some various vegetables, and I really

loved and love that quote, with a thought of

telling her how much I liked it, though we had already

passed each other by.

Then came a thought that it only

tells the what, but not the how. And I then realized

that the only way to get to the how is with support. Unlike

the idea that we are spoon-fed from birth in our Western society

that says that this is something that we must do completely

on our own, that no one is responsible for anyone

but themselves, that tells us the fantasy

(and the lie), of people who

achieve greatness

against all odds.

It does have a wonderful sound to it,

and it makes a gloriously heroic archetype for movies and

the stories of our lives, so I can’t blame anyone too much for believing it.

The only problem with it is that it is almost true, but not quite.

Where it goes wrong is when it speaks of people

achieving greatness against all odds.

But no one can achieve greatness against all odds.

No one can achieve greatness against all manner of adversity

without having at least one thing going their way, without having at

least one advantage, often hidden, which helps tip the

teetering scales of life in their favour.

No one can achieve greatness feeling the whole

world hates them and not having a supportive family

and belonging to a stigmatized, marginalized

group and having every other disadvantage

that one could possibly conceive of.

There has to be at least one person, one role

model, whether it be a parent, a teacher, a preacher,

or someone of at least some standing in society

who doesn’t think they suck, who believes

in them, and who helps shine a light

to light a path through the thorny

brambles and obstacles that

this world often throws our way.

With that then comes the actual possibility

of being able to “Grow through what you go through”.

Amen to that.

— James Andriulaitis is a writer and artist living in Ottawa.

Related articles:

Belong Ottawa’s Centre 454 asks City for an extension of its time at St. Albans

Ride fodr Refuge supports Centre 454 on Oct. 3.

Library exhibit showcases Belong Ottawa artists’ talent

“We are put here to blossom…to sing”

St. Albans concerned about Centre 454 transition

The post “Grow through what you go through.” Great—but how? appeared first on Perspective.

The most immediate concern is the January 2027 deadline to move the centre when a new location has yet been found.

Mary Martha Hale is a parishioner at St. Albans, but she was also the long-time executive director of the centre before she retired in 2014. “January is impossible,” she said, having overseen the only time the centre moved away from St. Albans (to a former office building on Murray Street). She said it took about 18 months to find a place, to go through community consultations to fit up the building, to plan and renovate, and also help the community adapt to the idea of the centre moving.

“But that’s if you can find a place. Twenty-seven years ago, when we found the place on Murray, we had to go before the Committee of Adjustment at the City. We had to go before the Lower Town Community Association and give them information about what we were planning, what kind of services we offer, and actually, we were able to engage one of the members of the community association to sit on our board.” In 2011, as that location was becoming too small to meet their needs, Bishop John Chapman, bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa at the time, invited them to come back to St. Albans, this time to occupy the whole basement not just half, and not as tenants of the parish but as a one of two ministries of the Diocese that would be partners in the building.

Considering the current situation, Hale asked, “Are they truly going to close a service for the homeless in downtown Ottawa in January? It would be extremely shameful for the City to close the centre in January with no alternative identified and prepared,” she said. “If that if that is going to go ahead. I’m going to be picketing at the City,” she vowed.

Belong Ottawa has sent a formal, written request to the City to extend its transition time at St. Albans.

St. Albans’ rector, the Rev. Michael Garner is concerned that finding a new location will be difficult. He asks if the City will provide funding for a new location, the move, as well for renovations to adapt a building for Centre 454’s needs.

But even if all of that comes together, he fears that many of the people Centre 454 currently serves won’t be able travel to its new location if it is to be outside of the municipal Ward 12. “A lot of the people who go to the centre are pretty significantly challenged through drug addiction, through homelessness through physical infirmities…. The crux of St. Albans’ concern is those people aren’t going to follow the centre because they live the shelters in that neighbourhood, on the streets in Sandy Hill/Lowertown.

“If those people aren’t able … to go to where the centre goes, who’s going to care for them? Who’s going to feed them? Who’s going to provide them with showers? Garner asked. “Even just the pragmatic issue of public washrooms in the downtown core. There aren’t many. One of the main public washrooms, especially now that the safe injection sites are closed, is Centre 454. Where are people going to go to the bathroom?”

Even though the bathrooms and showers would still exist in the church basement, Garner explained that serving that high acuity population requires professional staff to run and supervise the facility. “As a parish, we don’t have the capacity to run Centre 454 by ourselves…. But there’s still going to be a need for laundry… for food …for showers and all the amazing things the centre does… It’s the concern for the people who are literally our neighbours who we’ve been caring for.”

Both Hale and Garner thought that moving the centre would have negative consequences for residents in the broader area as well. As someone who attends St. Albans, Hale said, ”Every time I go to the church or by the church, I see people leaning up against the gate, and people are using or they’re helping each other, or they’re just sitting there. And then if the centre’s open, there’s fewer people on the street. Those numbers, I think, are going to climb,” she said.

Parishioners hope to meet with Bishop Kathryn Otley in the early fall for a collective discussion of the news of the move. Centre 454 has been an important part of the current parish’s identity since it returned in 2012. As the opioid crisis escalated, some parishioners even took training offered by Centre 454 since 2022, learning how to reverse overdoses with Naxolone kits and carry them with them. Garner says that parishioners have participated in reversing at least 10 overdoses, many of them on Sunday mornings.

“It’s part of the role of the church to be ministering to the vulnerable,’ said Hale. “These are human beings, and the people who I have been in relationship with at the centre are just like you and me, but they’ve just had horrible circumstances in their lives that have pushed them into homelessness.” She noted that being homeless makes people more vulnerable to predators in the drug trade.

“I always felt my work was my faith in action. And the relationships that are built, the lives that are supported, it flows in both directions. My life was enriched by my experiences at the centre. Just as I hope my being at the centre enriched others’ lives,” Hale said.

“The City has benefitted from the centre offering these services at a lower cost than if they had to provide them themselves,” Hale added, mentioning that Mayor Mark Sutcliffe praised Belong Ottawa’s work two years ago when he attended its 70^th anniversary celebration.

Garner said there is a moral question at the heart of the situation. “’Housing first is a great tagline, and obviously, housing is great, but the road to have everyone housed is long. So even if the City has a 100% foolproof plan that is going to work, it probably takes 10 years, and in the meanwhile, we still have to take care of these populations.”

Related reading: 

Belong Ottawa’s Centre 454 asks City for an extension of its time at St. Albans

Ride for Refuge supports Centre 454 on Oct. 3.

The post St. Albans concerned about Centre 454 transition appeared first on Perspective.

As an Anglican Community Ministry, Centre 454 has offered care and essential services to adults experiencing homelessness, poverty, mental health challenges, substance use related harms and social isolation for 72 years. St. Albans Anglican Church at the corner of King Edward and Daly Avenue has housed this ministry for most of that time. The City of Ottawa, which provides core funding for the program, has advised Belong Ottawa that Centre 454 will need to relocate, with a current deadline of end of January 2027.

Belong Ottawa has sent a formal written request for an extension of the transition timeline to ensure its “essential service continues without interruption for everyone who depends on it.”

The prospect of any move of this kind is daunting. Belong Ottawa welcomes 600 to 700 people to its three locations every day, with about 45 percent of them at Centre 454. In addition to meals and other essential services, Belong Ottawa provides referrals to help participants access income, housing, newcomer supports, addiction and mental health treatment services, education, employment, health, legal and other supports.

In recent years, Center 454 has upgraded its kitchen and laundry appliances. The centre provides access to showers, laundry and lockers where people experiencing homelessness can temporarily store their possessions, and cots with clean linens where they may rest in a safe space. Moving locations in the dead of winter would add another level of complexity at a time when the City requires warming centres and safe places people can seek shelter from the cold.

Belong Ottawa is a low barrier drop-in day program. Everyone is welcome, and for the safety of everyone involved, open use of drugs or alcohol has always been prohibited inside the program and on other Community Ministry properties. As the opioid crisis intensified over the past several years, however, the increasing prevalence of public drug use created new challenges for participants, staff, volunteers, and the surrounding neighbourhood. It also intensified pressure from some nearby residents who had long called for Centre 454 to relocate. Belong Ottawa staff have been trained in the use of Naloxone to reverse overdoses, and they regularly save lives. The recent closure of Consumption and Treatment Sites (CTS) in Ottawa, including two in the Sandy Hill neighbourhood near Centre 454, have increased pressure on the city’s health and social service system.

Kale Brown, director of Housing and Homelessness for the City of Ottawa, acknowledged that “Centre 454 is an important part of Ottawa’s social support network and has supported some of the community’s most at-risk residents for decades.” He attributed the need to find a more suitable location to “the needs of program participants and the surrounding community” evolving. “As a primary funder, the City is working closely with Belong Ottawa to review location options and support the transition. As planning continues, our focus remains on maintaining service continuity and supporting community well-being,” and helping “ensure day programs, like Centre 454, remain a welcoming community resource.”

Belong Ottawa’s executive director Shauna Young told Perspective it is vital that any new home be “meaningfully placed,” so it is accessible to the people Centre 454 serves. Launching a fundraising campaign to uphold critical services and fortify Centre 454 through this transition, Belong Ottawa confirmed its commitment “to continuing Centre 454’s compassionate, low barrier support for generations to come. As community needs grow, we are partnering with the City to strengthen this vital service.” A silver lining outcome would be finding a larger and purpose-built space to help meet increasing needs, Young said.

The Rev. Victoria Scott, director general of the Anglican Community Ministries, said: “As attention continues to focus on Centre 454’s relocation, our immediate priority remains advocating for an extension to the January 2027 timeline and helping people understand the impact this transition will have. As we navigate this moment together, we remain committed to holding with care the longstanding witness of this ministry, the people who rely on it, the realities facing the surrounding neighbourhood and the City of Ottawa, and the discernment required to find a new home where Centre 454 can continue offering dignity, stability, and compassionate support.”

The important role Belong Ottawa plays in the community was evident at a summer barbeque held in Dundonald Park on July 22 that was attended by more than 500 people, most of whom participate in programs at one or all three of its locations.

Rabeya Klein told Perspective that Belong Ottawa changed her life. She recalled being isolated in her home in the years before the pandemic. “I would find myself alone all the time, getting depressed and not feeling like I belonged anywhere,” she said. Fortunately, at that time, she lived next door to St. Luke’s Anglican Church on Somerset Street where the St. Luke’s Table program (now part of Belong Ottawa) served hot lunches and offered other assistance to anyone in need. When she walked in for the first time, the staff welcomed her warmly, and she decided to volunteer. She began helping to serve lunches and then moved to calling bingo numbers. Now she serves as a member of the Belong Ottawa Participant Advisory Committee, gathering and expressing feedback from participants and sharing ideas to improve the drop-in day programs. “I’ve made lifelong friends through volunteering at St. Luke’s,” she said, noting that the relationships and opportunities for social connection are one of the best aspects of Belong Ottawa programs.

Calley, told Perspective that she has visited all three locations of Belong Ottawa at various times, said she found the staff are patient and “are always there to listen to you…They helped me understand that there is help out there.” She added that they helped her find housing after she went through a difficult time. Calley also mentioned the importance of the friendships and social connections formed at Belong Ottawa.

The Rev. Victoria Scott reflected on the importance of the Community Ministries for Anglican Diocese of Ottawa. “As a church, we are called both to respond to immediate need and to name the injustices that create that need. Compassion requires us to meet people where they are. Justice requires us to ask why so many people continue to fall through the cracks and what must change so that people and communities can flourish.”

She added, “Too often these conversations become polarized, as though we must choose between supporting vulnerable people and acknowledging the strain that frontline ministries and neighbourhoods are experiencing. We can hold both realities and work toward solutions that serve everyone. We can affirm the dignity of every person while also saying clearly the current situation is failing many people, including those struggling with addiction, those working on the front lines, and the communities around them.  Held together, these truths invite us into a shared work of discernment—one that refuses false choices and seeks the common good by pursuing solutions that honour the dignity of every person and strengthen the well-being of the whole community.”

Anyone wanting to support Belong Ottawa’s request for an extension to the transition timeline will soon be able to participate in a letter-writing campaign through Belong Ottawa’s website. There will also be opportunities to support the ministry financially through an upcoming fundraising campaign.

Supporters and allies are also encouraged to participate in or sponsor a team in the Ride for Refuge on Oct. 3: Ottawa Elmvale Acres (Belong Ottawa) – Ride for Refuge 2026 In the meantime, donations to support Belong Ottawa’s work can be made through the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa’s online donation page.Donate Now – ANGLICAN DIOCESE OF OTTAWA

Belong Ottawa hosts a summer barbecue

Concerns about Centre 454’s transition did not dampen the spirits of the Belong Ottawa staff, volunteers and the more than 500 people who attended a summer barbecue on a hot and sunny day in Dundonald Park.

Related articles:

Ride for Refuge supports Centre 454 on Oct. 3

St. Albans concerned about Centre 454 transition

“Grow through what you go through” — Great, but how?

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Belong’s Centre 454 location has operated in the lower level of St. Albans Church for decades, providing basic services such as meals, shower and laundry facilities, as well as equally essential social connection and care.

The Rev. Michael Garner, incumbent of St. Albans, welcomed everyone into the church. He said the staff and volunteers are “an inspiration to me personally and to this congregation. I just really want to thank you for all you do. It is not easy work. We see that…. The way that you show up with passion and love and understanding for people who really need it in this moment is amazing.”

The Rev. Victoria Scott, the director general of Anglican Community Ministries, added her own thanks to the staff and volunteers for “the ways that you all make this a place of dignity and hope and connection. For me, it is absolutely at the centre of the Gospel to walk in solidarity with those who are experiencing vulnerability and marginalization. And there’s tremendous opportunity in places like this for connection in the midst of the disconnection in our world and for a way to find hope even in the darkest times. And so just know that I personally am so grateful for each and every one of you…. and really recognize the transformative work that you do.”

Shauna-marie Young, executive director of Belong Ottawa, thanked St. Albans and Garner for hosting the celebration in the church and for the parish’s hospitality and support of Belong Ottawa’s work.

She also thanked Paul Weber for providing music for the celebration as well as for the concert he and his band performed at St. Albans in February with all the proceeds benefitting Belong Ottawa.

 “Belong Ottawa is truly fortunate to have 31 dedicated volunteers…. You offer your time, your energy, your compassion, and in many cases, your personal resources in support of our mission. You contribute in so many meaningful ways — serving meals, offering companionship, supporting programs, trimming hair, mending clothes, gifting donations,” Young said. “Everything you do helps Belong Ottawa create safety and belonging for every person who walks through our doors.”

Volunteers’ commitment has made it possible for Belong Ottawa to serve 162 ,000 meals since June 2025, she said. “That number …represents far more than food. It represents dignity, stability and community for those who need it most…. From the bottom of our Belong hearts, thank you for your generosity, your spirit, your unwavering dedication. Each of you make a difference, and that’s why we wanted to honour you today.”

The post Belong Ottawa day program toasts its volunteers appeared first on Perspective.

Hobin Architecture will match donations from new donors made before July 1, 2026, up to a total of $45,000. Belong Ottawa will share donations received through the program with two other charities — the Youville Centre, which supports young mothers and their children, and the Ottawa Humane Society.

Belong Ottawa operates day programs in three locations in downtown Ottawa —Centre 454, St. Luke’s Table and The Well — serving vulnerable people who may be experiencing poverty, homelessness, mental illness and addictions. The day programs address basic needs such as food, laundry and shower facilities as well as offering other supports that foster dignity, wellness and hope.

“At Belong Ottawa, we are honoured our organization has been featured in this year’s campaign,” said executive director Shauna-marie Young. “This spotlight gives new supporters the chance to discover our essential, lifesaving work, and it reinforces how powerful it is when charities and socially responsible companies come together. Partnerships like these strengthen our communities and create lasting, positive impact. Thank you for this meaningful recognition.”

Steve Clifford, Hobin’s director of marketing and communications, explained that the company started the You Give, We Give program in 2021 in response to the hard times the community was going through during COVID. “We’ve always had a strong philanthropic mandate here, giving a portion of our own revenues, but we wanted to leverage our peers. So that’s what kind of drove this new matching program.”

Architect Barry Hobin founded the Ottawa-based firm in 1979 as a two-person office that has now grown to a team of more than 40 designers, technologists and administrators. It is now the longest operating architecture firm in Ottawa. Woven into the firm’s DNA is a strong belief in and commitment to giving back to the community.

In an interview with Perspective, Hobin explained, “We hold ourselves accountable…. We don’t come to the end of the year and ask ‘Have we got some money left over that we can throw into charitable giving?’ Our regular accounting and profit and loss sheet has built into it an expectation of charitable giving.” He added, “We philosophically want to give to agencies that are small, who are grassroots…. Our first major gifts were to things like the Ottawa Mission and around social justice and compassion. As causes, those things ring true to us.”

Hobin noted that the firm is a secular company, so its charitable giving is described in terms of recognizing “that we exist because of the strength of community, and we want to make our community stronger.

However, he added that the firm “ascribes to the Judeo Christian framework of tithing…. we’re in a time when talking about personal faith is challenging. Demonstrating your beliefs through action resonates with your community.”

You Give, We Give 2026

Ottawa architect Barry Hobin and his firm believe in giving back to the community year in and year out.

photo: metropolis studio

The post Belong Ottawa to benefit from a matching fundraising campaign appeared first on Perspective.

That’s the long but self-explanatory name that Kaptain MacDonald and Hayden Hamilton adopted for an outreach program they created, offering their help to anyone in need in the Cornwall, Ont. area.

It all started last year after a winter storm when the two friends helped a woman who needed to change her tires to winter tires so that she could drive to a hospital to see her dying mother. “Hayden and I felt very blessed to be a tool of God, really a wrench in in God’s toolbox,” MacDonald told Perspective in an interview. They felt it was a calling.

People who knew them didn’t take them seriously at first, but MacDonald says they decided, “Just for fun, let’s blow it up on Facebook…We ended up as a joke calling ourselves the Two Strong Christian Boys That Can Move Heavy Things, just because it was funny… but it’s stuck like glue and everybody knows us as that…Since then, we’ve done full moveouts, simple furniture moves…. Then we started doing landscaping, offering snow removal. It’s us that’s truly been blessed that people have these needs and that were used by God to be actually able to go out and help them.”

They don’t ask for payment. MacDonald says they use any donations they receive to help pay for supplies such as gas or equipment to enable them to help others.

Now, they have a plan to help Centre 105 and Lighthouse Drop-in Centre in Cornwall.

“We heard so much about Centre 105… but going there and actually seeing the gravity of what Centre 105 does, it blew us away. The fact that they sit 100 people four days a week, the laundry, the food, everything. I was holding tears back as I was there…. It’s our pleasure to try and help them,” says MacDonald.

The Boys recognized that what is most helpful to Centre 105 and the Lighthouse is not lifting heavy things but money to fund their operations, so starting on May 29, they are doing a two-day, 63-kilometre fundraising walk to benefit both centres. They are walking from Cornwall to Maxville and back again.

MacDonald says they don’t expect many people to walk the whole distance with them, but they have identified checkpoints along their route where people could join in and walk part of the way with them. By the end of March, they had raised about $4,000. They also hope to raise awareness and support in the community for the important work done at both Centre 105 and the Lighthouse Drop-in Centre.

“Centre 105 would like to thank Kaptain and Hayden for all the effort they’ve put into organizing this 63km walk in support of Centre 105 and the Lighthouse Centre,” said Mélodie Cousineau, a social service worker at Centre 105. “When I met with them a few weeks ago to talk about the fundraiser, it was clear how committed they are to helping Cornwall Ministries and the community. They were great to speak with and genuinely passionate about what they’re doing,” she said. “It’s really amazing to see our community come together like this. We’re looking forward to their walk in May and are very grateful for their efforts, as well as for everyone who continues to support them.”

For more information or to donate, look for Two Strong Christian Boys That Can Move Heavy Things on Facebook or contact Centre 105.

The post Two Strong Christian Boys create a fundraising walk for Cornwall ministries appeared first on Perspective.

The Community Ministries serve some of the most vulnerable people in our midst who may be experiencing homelessness, poverty, mental illness, trauma and addiction.

The ministries include day programs at Belong Ottawa’s three locations at Centre 454, St. Luke’s Table and The Well, as well as Centre 105 in Cornwall, which offer service to address basic needs such as food, laundry and shower facilities, as well as other supports that foster dignity, wellness and hope.

Cornerstone Housing for Women provides supportive permanent housing for women and gender-diverse individuals as well as operating an emergency shelter.

The Ottawa Pastoral Counselling Centre (The OPC) offers counselling and psychotherapy to individuals, couples and families, including children and teens, and has a counselling support fund that allows the OPC to offer some crisis support to people who otherwise could not afford counselling.

The Refugee Ministry Office operates as a Sponsorship Agreement Holder in Canada’s private refugee sponsorship program that has helped hundreds of people begin new lives in Canada in its decades of service.

Supporting all of this work is a daunting balancing act with a hectic pace, but the new director general kindly took time to answer some questions from Perspective.

Now that you have had a few months to start settling in, how are you feeling about your new role?

I’m settling into the role with a growing sense of clarity about both the strength of these ministries and the challenges they are facing.

In these first months, I’ve been listening carefully—spending time with staff, volunteers, and participants and paying attention to what is working well and where there is strain. What is immediately clear is the depth of commitment across all of the Community Ministries, and the essential role they play in the life of our Diocese and in the wider community.

At the same time, the pressures are significant. Rising demand, increasing complexity of need, and financial constraints are not abstract concerns—they are shaping daily realities on the ground. That requires us to be both honest about where we are and intentional about where we are going.

So, I find myself holding both a deep respect for what has been built and a clear sense that this is a moment for focus and discernment. My role is to help bring that clarity—strengthening what is working, addressing what is not sustainable, and supporting a path forward that is both faithful to our mission and viable over the long term.

What drew you to want to lead and guide the Community Ministries?

Our faith, as followers of Jesus in the Anglican tradition, offers a strong framework for participating in God’s work of love, care, and compassion. What drew me to this role is seeing how clearly our diocesan Community Ministries already embody that call—walking alongside those who are most vulnerable and creating spaces of dignity, connection, and hope.

I often return to Luke’s version of the Beatitudes, where Jesus levels the ground. He speaks blessing to those on the margins, raising them into dignity and visibility, while calling those with power into deeper relationship and accountability. That movement toward level ground—where people meet face to face and heart to heart—is at the centre of this work, and it’s what I feel called to help lead.

What in your past experience best prepared you for your new role as director general?

My work has consistently brought together vision, relationship-building, and sustainability.

As incumbent at the Church of the Ascension, I initiated a multi-stage visioning process rooted in Anglican identity and led the parish through cultural change and liturgical renewal. In my time at Ascension, the parish strengthened partnerships with various community organizations – including Pathway Yoga, who make their home in the church hall six days a week – enriching parish life while improving financial sustainability.

At St. Luke’s, I deepened connections between the parish and St. Luke’s Table, and with Somerset West Community Health Centre and the local Business Improvement Association, while guiding the parish through significant capital renovations. That work required integrating governance, community engagement and long-term planning.

Earlier, in my work at Health Canada, I developed skills in policy analysis, writing, and working across complex systems—experience that continues to shape my approach to strategy and communication.

Across all of these roles, the common thread has been building strong relationships, clarifying direction, and supporting structures that are both mission-driven and sustainable.

What have participants told you or what have you observed among the participants that has made a deep impression on you?

What stays with me is the resilience people carry, often alongside significant and ongoing hardship. Many are navigating layers of challenge – housing instability, poverty, mental health, trauma –  yet there is a clarity and strength in how they move through the world.

Again and again, I hear how much relationship matters. Beyond services, people speak about being known, greeted by name, and treated with respect. That sense of dignity is not secondary to the work—it is central to it.

At the same time, the growing complexity of need is very evident. Our Community Ministries are under increasing pressure, and I see staff and volunteers responding with deep commitment and care, stretching limited resources to meet that demand.

All Community Ministries are challenged to meet rising needs and costs. How can the diocesan church, parishes and individuals help?

This work is a shared responsibility. The Community Ministries are not separate from the church’s life—they are a direct expression of it.

There are important practical contributions—financial support, volunteering, and advocacy—that make a tangible difference. But just as important is a deeper engagement: seeing these ministries as part of our common life, building relationships, and allowing what we learn to shape our priorities and decisions.

We also need to be clear about the scale of the challenge. Rising costs and increasing demand mean that maintaining the status quo is not enough. This moment calls for both generosity and clarity about how we will respond together in a sustainable way.

Where do you find joy and peace outside of work?

I find grounding in simple, restorative rhythms—time outdoors, exercise, and being near water. I also enjoy cooking and a range of artistic pursuits, which offer a different kind of creativity and focus from my day-to-day work.

Time spent at our family’s off-grid cabin just outside Sharbot Lake is especially meaningful for me— it’s a place to step back, reflect, and reconnect with my husband and our two children. I’m always grateful for time with family and friends, and the steady rhythms of prayer and worship continue to sustain me and bring a sense of balance and hope.

The post The Rev. Victoria Scott leads the Anglican Community Ministries appeared first on Perspective.

They participated with about 60 other front-line providers in the Empathy Project, described by the organizer, Alliance to End Homelessness Ottawa, as an exercise in social policy education.

Each one assumed a persona—a person who needed help from multiple service providers—which was fictional but was expertly designed to reflect real-life experience.

They were given a list of service locations such as Service Ontario, a health care clinic and community housing service which were scattered around a multi-storey building of the Canadian Mental Health Association.

At the end of the exercise, some of their comments were: “meaningful and memorable…unsettling…very powerful… profound…overwhelmed at how awful it is…”

“The Empathy Project challenges participants to engage with the realities of navigating a complex and often dehumanizing system,” Moira Alie, chair of the Bishop’s Panel on Housing Justice, said. “Though the experience can be frustrating, its purpose is not to foster hopelessness, but to inspire action. If homelessness is a systemic problem, it is also a solvable one.” Alie is engagement manager at the alliance.

Mark Holzman, chair of Cornerstone’s board of directors, stepped into the situation of an Inuit man who had been living with his son and mother in Ottawa for two years, doing well enough to rent an apartment. Until, one day he was evicted, informed that the landlord was going to renovate. He was out on the street.

“I went to register on the housing list and was told it’s a six-year wait…There were a lot of people waiting at the shelter. Often the answer was, ‘No…no, we can’t help you, you need to go over there…no, you aren’t going to be helped today.’ That was unsettling.”

Holzman pointed out that in the simulation the “clients” had to walk up and down stairs to locations in a multi-storey building. In reality they would have to take a bus. And sometimes their first problem is getting bus tickets.

Anne Marie Hopkins, executive director of Cornerstone, assumed the role of Charles, a young immigrant refugee trying to get into a shelter and in need of disability support.

“I was not able to get my birth certificate because I didn’t have $35 to pay for it. Because of that I’m not able to get onto disability and get some income to get housing.”

Hopkins said it was a realistic reflection of the barriers that folks at the shelter face regularly. Cornerstone has a fund to help with issues like getting a birth certificate, and staff will accompany people to help them access services properly.

Shauna-marie Young, executive director of Belong Ottawa, stepped into the persona a black woman, a recent arrival to Canada who didn’t have her documents in order. She became ill, had to be hospitalized, losing her children to foster care. Upon discharge she struggled to find income and housing so her children could be returned.

As she walked from agency to agency, she found abject rejection, a lack of real support, a fatigue on the part of the providers when they had nothing to offer. “Imagine losing your children to care and being told, ‘There’s nothing I can do to help you. No, you can’t see your children’…Being in receipt of no, no, no, as kindly as it’s said, it’s still no, no, no.”

The Rev. Victoria Scott, a member of Belong Ottawa’s board of directors who has just been appointed as the director general for Anglican Community Ministries, was Charles, a 17-year-old who had been bounced around in foster care, suffered abuse and ended up on the street.

“Without any money, ID or connections other than a local shelter, I had to make my way through a day of navigating the system: going to Service Ontario to be told that I couldn’t apply for a birth certificate without the fee. I then went to the ODSP (Ontario Disability Support Program) office to be told I couldn’t apply without ID, an address and bank statements. I reached out to a landlord to be told I couldn’t apply for an apartment without proof that I was receiving ODSP. I went to the employment office to find a line so long that I had to leave in order to get back to the shelter to sign in before 4 pm.”

Scott said she knew people in similar situations when she was incumbent at St Luke’s, with its St Luke’s Table drop-in centre.  She was impressed by an approach that encourages empathy. “I often think there is a misconception that the church borrows social justice from politics but it’s gospel-based. It’s our baptismal vows. It’s what Jesus did.”

Simon Kinsman, newly-appointed chair of Belong Ottawa’s advisory board, assumed the persona of a single mother, struggling to support her own ailing mother and a son facing “renoviction.”

She had been managing financially but had to take unpaid time away from her work, spending days at the offices of service providers. She herself ended up being illegally evicted and turned to the emergency shelter for help.

“What stood out for me,” Kinsman said, “was how discouraging and even dehumanizing it is to be told no constantly. People facing homelessness continue to face life’s other challenges — a sick parent, job insecurity, without the safe space to rest and without a support network.”

“It made me incredibly proud of the work Belong Ottawa and the Anglican ministries do in providing that safe space.”

Kinsman said the project is valuable for the decision-makers to better understand how the system they have designed is experienced by the people who use it.

That’s the goal of Alliance to End Homelessness Ottawa. It has been taken up by Ottawa and Pembroke city councils and is offered to medical and nursing students, anyone considering a caring profession, including teachers.

Raising awareness of how the system actually works is seen by all as a big step forward in reducing homelessness.

As Mark Holzman said: ”We hope the people making the rules can experience what it’s like. Do they really need all that information before they can provide a service? If you’re telling your story over and over again…Is there not a way to simplify that process?”

Cornerstone chair Mark Holzman (top), Cornerstone executive director Anne Marie Hopkins and Belong Ottawa’s Shauna-marie Young stepped into the shoes of homeless persons this winter.  Jesus Homeless, by Timothy Schmalz.

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