Out Of The Cold

Out Of The Cold


It's 5PM on Thursday, and even though I'm early, I can still get in. I know what to expect because I've been here many times before. But for those who haven't been here before … here are some of the main points.

The crowd is a mix of homeless and marginalized people, men and women, young and old (tonight there are several families with 2 and 3 year old children – I've even seen some as young as 1 week old), volunteers (both first time and regular) and just plain recipients.

The doors usually open at 6PM, but volunteers can get in earlier, and if it's extremely cold outside, no-one will be asked to wait out in the cold.

Even though this event takes place in a church and is sponsored by that church, no-one “preaches” at anyone else, and no prayer is forced on the people being served. The volunteers do offer up a brief prayer earlier on when they first get started. And if anyone asks, the core group of workers will explain the reason why they do what they do. Every one's main focus, however, is on serving all comers with love and respect.

Tonight dinner is served earlier than usual (it's usually served around 8PM but tonight – Christmas eve – it's being served around 6:30 as the church is having a Christmas Eve service upstairs at 7:30 for anyone who is interested).

The dinner is always plentiful, nutritious, and very tasty. Tonight it consists of roasted ham, roasted vegetables, a special roasted vegetables with tofu dish for vegetarians, spinach salad, and a wonderfully moist cake with whipped cream topping. To drink there is coffee, tea (including a herbal tea and regular tea), hot apple cider, and juice.

Tables with chairs are set up before the “guests” arrive. Each table has a number on it. People can sit where ever they like, but they are asked not to add additional chairs to tables. When the food is served, numbers are randomly picked from a container and the table with the number called can go up top be served. If there are special dietary needs and the main cook has been informed, every effort is made to accommodate those special needs. Once everyone has had a serving, if there are left-overs, people can come back for seconds.

The “rules” are simple. Treat everyone else with respect, and wait your turn (the numbers are called randomly – everyone will get a turn).

During the dinner itself tonight, gift bags are distributed to all who are here. There have been times when during the dinner there have been public health nurses available to address health issues. Just like during a family meal family members are encourage to share what has taken place during their day, there are volunteers who are willing to listen to people who just need a friendly ear to hear what is going on in their lives.

After the meal, more volunteers do the dishes, clean the floors, put away the tables and chairs, and take out the garbage. Then around 9:30, during the fall, winter, and early spring, those who are homeless and need a place to sleep (and who have signed up for it) can sleep overnight. There are mattresses, blanket, and pillows available that get cleaned after every use. And for every sleep-over, there are 2 volunteers who stay up overnight so everyone else can sleep safely knowing that someone is watching over them.

I realize that I have used the word volunteers a lot in this blog. That is because of all the people involved in putting on this weekly event, only ONE of them gets paid for doing this work. All the rest ARE volunteers! Also, a portion of the food used each week is donated by local businesses. There is absolutely NO CHARGE to anyone for the food or the overnight stay. Any items purchased are purchased using donations earmarked for Out Of The Cold.

That is the name for this weekly event. Out Of The Cold. The church that sponsors this event is Grandview Calvary Baptist Church (their website is http://www.gcbchurch.ca/index.php), and they are located in the Commercial Drive area of east Vancouver. On average, they feed 130 people every week, with up to 30 people sleeping over. They have been doing this for well over 10 years already, and they have many other programs that have grown out of this weekly event.

They have consistently impressed me with their attitude towards the disenfranchised. They have an attitude of respect and caring. They do not have an attitude of superiority, of “We're better than you so you better listen to us and do what we say”. Rather, they approach this with an attitude of “there but for God's grace go I”.

If you live in the Greater Vancouver area, and have time to volunteer, or if you have money (or fresh produce, meat, or other food) that you wish to donate somewhere, this is an excellent place to do so. This is the kind of event that I feel addresses a specific need for the homeless (whether street kids or older), and does so without robbing them of their dignity. We need more places like this, doing this kind of good work on a daily basis (the only draw-back in my opinion is that Out Of The Cold is only once a week).

If you know of other places that have similar programs, let me know. I will do my best to research them and will then write about them in my blog.

Till next time!

Flowers For Food

Today I met with the founder and CEO of the Canadian Flowers For Food Society, Marrett Green.

This society helps provide marginalized people with flowers that are just past their prime. These flowers can be sold by these people and the money that they raise selling these flowers is used by them to pay for necessities such as food and housing. They also have a composting program.

They have success stories (people who were homeless and now have a home, some of whom have even gotten off of welfare) that you can read about on their website.

That website is: http://www.flowersforfood.com

They are a fully registered charitable organization, that runs on a lot of volunteer activity. They are currently looking for funding to keep their society running.

I am deeply impressed by this group. They work to make sure that those whom they assist are assisted without robbing them of a sense of dignity and self-worth. They do not need special training or ability to be assisted. Each person who is assisted is encouraged to discover their own worth, their own value. They are not told to do anything. They are encouraged to be all that they can.

There are several ways that this society can be supported. They use volunteers in several areas. They sell flowers to offices (if you order for your office you are supporting a marginalized individual). They also have a need for financial funding. If you have experience with fund raising, or have money to donate, do feel free to contact them at the e-mail listed on their website.

Too often, charitable organizations do not allow a person to retain their dignity. They leave the people (that they are supposed to be helping) feeling bad. Those same people already feel ineffectual and disenfranchised. They do not need additional feelings of inadequacy. Finding a Society that empowers the people they are helping is so refreshing!!

Let's support them, people! I know that I intend to support them in any way that I can!

A Good Place To Donate To

While exploring my Facebook website, I ran across this Non-Profit Organization that provides plants to homeless people, allowing them to sell the plants and keep the money from the sales for their own needs.

I highly recommend this approach, because it allows the person who is being helped to retain a sense of dignity and self-respect.

Too often, when we help others, they can be left feeling like they cannot manage on their own, eroding an already fragile sense of self-worth! Any assistance that allows a person a feeling of accomplishment is to be commended, and I feel it should be supported.

I intend to contact them to see if I can work with them to fund raise for them.

I will keep everyone informed after I hear back from them.

The link for this group is http://www.flowersforfood.com

Welcome To My Blog

Here is a little bit about myself and why I want to do this blog. To see the following info in the future, you can just go to my profile.

For the last 9 years, I have been getting to know and to care for homeless street youths.

When I have had a place of my own, I've allowed them to sleep on the floor in my home (1 winter as many as 15 young people showed up each night to sleep at my place), and every Christmas eve for the last 8 years I've put on a Christmas eve dinner (the 1st year - 40 young people showed up for dinner).

This has made me realize what special people these young men and women are, and how much love I have for them.

I wanted a forum where I could talk to like minded people about fund-raising to provide these young people with safe and secure housing (without getting the government involved), and to provide them with decent and nourishing food.

I am open to others contributing their ideas and articles about these topics, as well as providing feed-back for ideas that I put out there. If you know of a good organization that is sensitive to the needs of the homeless, PLEASE let me know!! I will check them out, and if they are what we are looking for, I'll post their info on my blog for all to see!!