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Have you ever met someone who is just amazing at remembering names? That person who you met once 3 years ago, who remembers your name as...

Resiliency is the ability to recovery readily after being bent or stretched from adversity. I have about 50 heroes in my life; all of...

As we near the 10th anniversary of Innercity Arts, I wanted to look back on how the program came about. I recently spoke with Jason Pino,...

Our Administrative Assistant, Gaby, is normally busy working at the office. But recently, she had the opportunity to visit our drop-in...

I’m not talking about the stories of trauma, tragedy or loss which I have – sadly – come to expect. No, I’m talking about something a...

And yet, they are all there with the same message: “I want your attention.” The reward in the discovery of a “blur” is like a box waiting...

I want to share a short, but quite wonderful, blessing I received from my street-engaged friend named ‘Bob.’ When you are on the streets,...

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...

I wanted to share today about a gentle soul that I have been blessed to serve on several occasions. Bob has never responded to me except...

On July 21-23, thirty-five stone carvers gathered on Ottawa’s historic Sparks Street for the Canadian Stone Carving Festival. Each was...

Innercity Arts was lucky enough to have Patrick Imai, a local carver, volunteer his time to come in to teach us about soap stone carving....

“Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter. The sitter is merely the accident, the...

Last week, local artist and OIM volunteer Ruth Allison did a workshop with the youth at Innercity Arts. She talked to the youth about her...

I was reminded of this the other day when a former client called us from Toronto to catch up.  She and her husband moved from Ottawa to...

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...

Every Tuesday, each week, we have our drop-in. I am sure by now many of you know what that is but let me explain for those who don’t....

We had to close our drop-in for a few weeks this summer due to a scheduling conflict with the church we use. I missed seeing our regular...

There is a new youth who has been coming to art group recently. I met him on outreach a few years ago and I discovered that from a young...

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”  ― Benjamin Franklin Mentorship is one of the most important...

A few weeks ago I was walking home from work when something very memorable happened. It was a crisp evening with the streets bustling...