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Oct 1, 2015
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...
Sep 10, 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...
Jul 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...
May 27, 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...
Apr 9, 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...
Nov 27, 2014
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...
Oct 2, 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...
Aug 4, 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...
Jun 19, 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...
Apr 14, 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...
Mar 18, 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...
Feb 10, 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 3, 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...
Jan 23, 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...
Mar 8, 2013
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 6, 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...
Feb 25, 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 22, 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 20, 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 11, 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...
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