He Fought Like a Soldier
On Jan 15, OIM launches a NEW Innercity Veterans Outreach & Support Service (DETAILS BELOW). Over the coming weeks and months, we will be...
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Nov 14, 2019
Above and Beyond
Wednesday night team on the first snowy night of the season. When OIM staff pack up for the day and lock the doors at 4pm, we know that...
Aug 9, 2019
A Tough Night
It was a particularly rough start to the night at Innercity Arts. One of the youth had arrived in distress, suffering from a mental...
Mar 29, 2019
Resilient Heroes
Resiliency is the ability to recovery readily after being bent or stretched from adversity. I have about 50 heroes in my life; all of...
Sep 7, 2018
When the Streets are Safer than Affordable Housing
You may be surprised to learn that I have heard this been said many times. Today, it was said by Sarah – a young person in our art...
Apr 27, 2018
Small Gestures
I was reminded of this recently when a former client called us from Toronto. She and her husband had been struggling with serious...
Apr 18, 2018
Building Relationships On The Street
One of those individuals who I have met while on street outreach is “Bob.” Bob has been living on the streets for many years. I count it...
Apr 8, 2018
God of the Ordinary
It was the end of the day at our drop-in and I was getting ready to clean up the Foot Care Station. I had been there for four hours,...
Apr 5, 2018
What does volunteering at OIM look like?
Beth comes every Wednesday all the way from the outskirts of Ottawa to the downtown core, where she has been volunteering at the Office...
Jan 1, 2018
A Homeless Vet’s Journey: THANK YOU!
Together we got to see what it’s really like to navigate our social services system: feeling his pain, experiencing his disappointment,...
Dec 27, 2017
A Homeless Vet’s Journey: Hear Kurk In His Own Words, Part 2
No support to help you through… unless someone steps up! OIM staff and volunteers step up on a regular basis to help and support people...
Dec 25, 2017
A Homeless Vet’s Journey: Hear Kurk In His Own Words, Part 1
Our Christmas Story this year took us on a journey with Kurk, a homeless Vet, who lost everything. We walked alongside him as he tried to...
Nov 27, 2017
A Homeless Vet’s Journey: Week 1
For the audio introduction to A Homeless Vet’s Journey click play below: Kurk had served several tours of duty in the armed forces,...
Oct 13, 2017
The Bob Series: Marginalized survivors
Note: To protect the identity of the people I write about, I have chosen to use the name ‘Bob’ in the following piece… All of the people...
Sep 21, 2017
A Place of Third Chances
That’s because this was his third time around. Having taken the next steps to go through an alcohol treatment program and transition into...
Aug 24, 2017
It’s the small things in life that matter
But it is the mundane, the everyday events, that can have the biggest impact. My role at the drop-in is that of a greeter. Some say it is...
Aug 17, 2017
THE ‘BOB’ SERIES: A Mighty Man Hidden
Back to “Bob.” Bob is a wonderful guy. He’s articulate, engaging in conversation. He presents that air of an intellectual, but not stuffy...
Jul 20, 2017
THE ‘BOB’ SERIES: For Those Who Matter
Back to “Bob”: this is a man who has seen every province in our great country. This is a man who has been through many traumas, who will...
Feb 17, 2017
What if it was you?
Valentines Day Week – just passed. Kudos to all of our volunteer outreach workers in all capacities: street outreach, drop in, office...
Feb 10, 2017
Imagine A World With More HOPE
This is George Frederic Watts 1886 painting, “Hope.” Hope is sitting on a globe, blindfolded, clutching a wooden lyre with only one...
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