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An Offering
But her life hasn’t been all smiles….she had a rough life that led her to homelessness and addiction. But despite this, she has never...
Oct 1, 2015


A Presence on the Streets
Not long ago, one of our outreach teams was doing late night outreach. It was about 10:30pm when they entered the market area. Across the...
Sep 10, 2015
Hailey
Last year, this video was put out by a shelter in New York City. You’ve probably seen it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6jSKLtmYdM In...
Jul 10, 2015


A Chance Meeting
When I meet a youth on outreach for the first time, I am always aware that it may be the only time I ever see them. The lives of...
May 27, 2015


Easter Reflections
He grew up on a native reserve, where the cruel history of the church was ever-present. For Allan, the church building was not a safe...
Apr 9, 2015


Shane’s Story
Shane’s Story is an eight episode blog post where Shane tells her story in her own words. Each week in December, on Mondays and...
Nov 27, 2014


What a difference a year makes….
Eva left home in her early teens. Eventually, she became homeless and addicted to drugs. As a young woman on the streets, she was quite...
Oct 2, 2014


Sam’s Story
Sam is a street artist who I met several years ago. He created the beautiful work of art above. I asked him to do a wood burning...
Aug 4, 2014


Aakuluk
When I approach an Aboriginal person while on outreach, I suddenly become very aware of the cross embroidered on my outreach vest. The...
Jun 19, 2014


Rideau Street, downtown Ottawa…
We didn’t get her name: it wasn’t offered and it was too early to ask. Maybe she was seventeen, but the hard life on the streets made...
Apr 14, 2014
Ottawa Home and Garden Show. Why?
OIM has been given a booth at the Ottawa Home and Garden Show, March 20 to 23 at the Ernst and Young Centre. Why? A friend of the...
Mar 18, 2014
Behind the Story…
I noticed ‘Cal’ on several occasions at the drop in, but I never took opportunity to have a conversation with him until this week. He was...
Feb 10, 2014
The Small Things Guy…
Following from last week, my friend ‘Jesse’, the ‘small things guy’. So last week at the drop in, I had to call the police and ask them...
Feb 3, 2014


The Warrior
“Father, I’m so weak…I’m so weak.” I was saying this to myself as I walked my outreach route, at the end of a particularly rough week. It...
Jan 23, 2014
I lost a piece of my heart…
Today I lost another piece of my heart. That’s what I feel when I meet someone who just makes me want to weep. Today I met...
Mar 8, 2013
God’s hands on a cold night…
This past Wednesday, Ottawa experienced what I hope was the last winter storm of the year (fingers crossed!). It was windy, snowy and...
Mar 6, 2013
OIM goes to the Oscars!
Ok…OIM didn’t actually GO to the Oscars…but the film that won ‘Best Documentary Short’ is the story of Inocente Izucar, a street-artist...
Feb 25, 2013
Feeling Human
I met Ashley last summer. She had just left her parents house and was staying at a downtown shelter. Like many other youth who first come...
Feb 22, 2013
You Take Donations Don’t You?
We came in this morning to find a note from one of the outreach teams that was out last night. The team had come across a friend in need...
Feb 20, 2013
Hard to believe, but 2013 marks our 25th Anniversary!
So much has transpired since Susan Brandt and Katrine Coward filled a couple of knapsacks with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and...
Feb 11, 2013
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