The Inner City Pulse, November-december 2008

November/December 2008

New hope for the New Year: Terry’s story INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Thanksgiving Dinner The Mobile Mission receives national attention Look inside for your Christmas Catalogue 2008: Gifts that Give Back!

Donate online and learn more at

www.ugm.ca

Hope for the Hungry, Hurting and Homeless... since 1940

PRESIDENT’S REPORT Union Gospel Mission offers hope to hungry, hurting and homeless men, women, youth and children in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland of BC by sharing and practically demonstrating the gospel of Jesus Christ, providing without discrimination: • • • • •

Basic necessities and practical assistance Effective recovery programs which offer freedom from addictive lifestyles Educational and job readiness programs which equip for successful living Outreach programs which provide encouragement, support, counselling, spiritual guidance and referral services, and Affordable housing for those in need through our Union Gospel Housing Society

Our desire is to be a bridge for people striving to regain the basic necessities of life, restore their God-given dignity and hope, empowering them to rejoin the community as full and active participants.

Programs & Services Offered • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Emergency Food, Shelter, Clothing Alcohol & Drug Recovery Programs Community Drop-in Centres Employment Services Youth Outreach Chapel & Meal Services Children’s Programs Adult Education Thrift Stores Counselling Bible Studies Home & Community Visitation Women’s Outreach

Union Gospel Mission Board of Directors Robert Pasman – Chairman Bill Schulz – Vice Chairman and Treasurer Bruce Anthony Mark DuMerton Roy Hildebrand Ernest Lang David Leung George Ratzlaff Alastair Rees-Thomas John Vanderwal

Senior Leadership Team Bill Mollard – President Blanche Hames – Director of Human Resources Genesa Wheaton – Director of Development Dan Russell – Director of Operations

Editorial Team J. Stewart – Editor-in-Chief Anika Cornish – Editor

Union Gospel Mission 616 East Cordova Street Vancouver, BC, V6A 1L9 Tel: 604.253.3323 Fax: 604.253.3496

In preparing for one of the busiest seasons of the year there is a sense of anticipation at Union Gospel Mission. The holiday season is another opportunity to extend a warm welcome to our guests, many of whom are seeking refuge from the streets, a way out of addiction or a helping hand to get back on their feet. This Thanksgiving it was a personal joy to see that caring donors like you helped provide thousands of meals to hungry people. But what is really exciting is that each meal can be the start of a new beginning for every guest. UGM’s wide range of quality programs and practical assistance improves the lives of the people we are called to serve. It is more important than ever to reach out to the growing number of people in distress in our cities. The recent Metro Vancouver homeless count revealed a 22% increase since 2005 in the number of people living without a home. Most disturbing was the number of women who are homeless, which nearly doubled compared to the previous homeless count. These figures coupled with the effects of rising food costs make for challenging times for so many men, women and families who are living in poverty.

How can you help? Volunteers are essential to the work of UGM. This Christmas you could help pack hampers or help with Christmas preparations at our New Westminster or Mission Drop-in Centres. Also, why not give your loved ones a gift that matters from our Christmas Catalogue? From helping provide a Christmas hamper for a family in need to feeding the hungry at our Christmas Dinner to putting Bibles in the hands of men and women going through our Alcohol & Drug Recovery Program, there are so many great ways to help by purchasing a Gift that Gives Back. I thank you for your compassion and wish you and your family a blessed Christmas. Gratefully,

William B. Mollard

LIVES CHANGED... August 2008 The Alcohol & Drug Recovery Program for men is an intensive, Christ-centred, six month live-in program. Every year, UGM sees many men successfully complete the program and begin clean and sober lifestyles. Lydia Home’s Alcohol & Drug Recovery Program for women integrates Biblical teaching with 12-step recovery and relapse prevention with an emphasis on specific women’s issues. The women are taught the skills that will assist them in maintaining an alcohol- and drug-free life.

Alpha/A & D John and Ross

Lydia Home Tanagra

September 2008

The Hope Learning Centre educates adults and encourages them to earn their GED (Grade 12 Equivalency), and acquire valuable employment skills.

Alpha/A & D Chester

Check our job ads at www.ugm.ca

Friends, even in this tough economic climate, I know we are up to the challenge. Union Gospel Mission is committed to continuing to expand and improve our programs to serve the growing need. We are committed to working hard and sacrificially to find lasting solutions to poverty, addiction and homelessness. And we are committed to working with you.

Financial Management Mark, Jesus, Douglas, Daniel, Chester

Union Gospel Mobile Mission Receives National Attention

HISTORY MINUTE

Gary Mason, columnist for the Globe and Mail, recently spent an evening aboard UGM’s newest outreach innovation, the Mobile Mission. In a gripping article published in mid-August, Mason helped shed light on the complex issue of homelessness and stark poverty in Vancouver. What Mason encountered on Vancouver’s streets was the jarring reality of lives gone astray and human beings seemingly lost in a downward spiral of addiction, mental illness and poverty. Along for the ride with Mobile Mission operator Arnie, Senior Chaplain Bruce Curtiss and UGM President Bill Mollard, the Globe reporter and a photographer documented the evening as the team reached out to men and women with a blanket, food, a cup of hot chocolate and a hand of compassion.

Read Gary Mason’s Globe and Mail article and watch a video of their evening on Vancouver’s streets at www.ugm.ca/globe

Over the past 68 years, Union Gospel Mission has used its vehicles to deliver food and help to those who need it most. The Mobile Mission, which hit the streets in late 2007, now allows us to deliver the essential services of the Mission – food, warm clothing and resource information – directly to men and women living on the streets.

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Feed the Hungry Thanksgiving Radiothon a Success This year, Union Gospel Mission once again partnered with JRfm 93.7 for the 5th annual Feed the Hungry Thanksgiving Radiothon. JRfm listeners heard testimonies of men and women whose lives have been changed through UGM’s wide range of programs and services, and they responded with generous donations that will make a real difference for so many. For many people in need, our Thanksgiving meal marked that important first step to making positive changes in their lives through such services as our Alcohol & Drug Recovery Program. Thanks to the volunteers, generous listeners and to everyone at JRfm for making this event such a success!

Thanks to you, over XXXX meals were served at our 21st annual Thanksgiving Dinner! On October 13th, you made it possible for Union Gospel Mission to welcome thousands of men, women, youth and children for an amazing Thanksgiving celebration. Over XXXX delicious turkey dinners were served at our Vancouver, New Westminster and city of Mission facilities. Attendees enjoyed special musical guests, chatted with outreach workers and sat down to a Thanksgiving meal with all the trimmings. The holidays can be a lonely and difficult time for many, but thanks to an outpouring of love by our volunteers, donors and staff, guests left with the reminder that they are indeed cared for. Thank you to everyone for making this a joyful Thanksgiving for so many in our communities!

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You’ll Make this Christmas a Season of Hope The holiday season can be an especially difficult time for those living in poverty or who are living on the streets and separated from loved ones. Many families in our communities are also struggling to make ends meet and cannot afford to provide their children with what we take for granted at Christmastime: toys, treats, a pantry full of food and warm winter clothing. But because you care, Christmas will be brighter for so many hurting people. Union Gospel Mission is planning for another busy and blessed holiday season. At our 68th annual Christmas Dinner, we expect to serve over 3,000 delicious meals to hungry men, women, youth and children. For many, this could be the start of a new life through our Alcohol & Drug Recovery Program, our Hope Learning Centre or one of our other life-changing programs. UGM is also preparing to bless over 300 families with Christmas Hampers. Each family in need will receive boxes filled with food staples, as well as a few treats, to last them for 2 weeks. Each child in the family will also receive an age-appropriate gift!

Give a gift that gives back! Buy gifts that matter from the UGM Christmas Catalogue or go to www.ugm.ca/christmas to purchase items online.

$3.29 – The New Cost to Provide a Hot, Nutritious Meal In order to adjust to the sharp increase in food prices, coupled with a drop in food donations, Union Gospel Mission has raised the cost to provide a complete meal to $3.29. While increases in food costs have generally been minimal year to year, by the end of the fiscal year, UGM food costs are expected to have risen 10%. Our commitment is to continue to provide high quality meals in the most cost-effective manner we can. Your support makes it possible to continue to provide the meals that give men, women, youth and children the nutrition they need to make positive changes in their lives. Thank you!

Contact Volunteer Services to find out how you can take part in the exciting things happening this Christmas at UGM. Go to www.ugm.ca/volunteer or call 604.215.5442 to learn more about volunteer opportunities.

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Testimonial



“I got to reflect on my past and my mistakes. It made me think that there’s a better way.”

New Life for the New Year Hard work of recovery reaps rewards

outreach worker. “God bless Mike” Terry says, “because he helped get me in to the [Alcohol & Drug] Program.”

Terry describes his life before he came to Union Gospel Mission as a “nightmare.” Addicted to alcohol and drugs, Terry was managing to hold down a job in security while living in an extremely stressful situation with another addict in Surrey. When he lost his job, he decided to see if he could find a healthier living situation in Vancouver.

During his time in recovery, Terry enjoyed the supportive environment of UGM. The other residents were kind; he was cared for, received clothing and enjoyed great meals. He says the program worked for him because of the Christian element to working through the 12 steps: “I got to reflect on my past and my mistakes. It made me think that there’s a better way.”

“I lost my job and became homeless in one month,” he recalls. “I came to Vancouver because I figured that would be a good place to find somewhere to live.” But Terry couldn’t find anything except a run-down Downtown Eastside hotel operating as an SRO (single room occupancy building) that was the filthy home to many people battling addictions. “I’m glad I didn’t move in there,” he realizes now, “because it would have just enabled my addiction.” Instead Terry ended up staying in different shelters and frequenting soup lines for his meals.

Terry graduated from the Alcohol & Drug Recovery Program in April of 2008 and though he initially went back to working in security, he soon decided that wasn’t the job for him. “That’s when another miracle happened,” he recalls. The day he quit that job, a position became available in the Maintenance Department at UGM. Terry is now enjoying his daily work at the Mission and has hope for the future. “I’d like to save my money, buy my own home and have a family of my own.”

Having heard from another homeless person that UGM served the best free food in town, Terry started making use of UGM’s chapel and meal services. He also started going to the Vancouver Drop-in in the mornings for coffee and a pastry. There, he met Mike, a long-time UGM

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And he is very grateful for the donors who made his new life possible. “There are so many needy people on the Downtown Eastside – it’s sort of like a desert, and Union Gospel Mission is Shangri-La. You have to persevere and work hard. Staying sober and staying clean is a hard job, but if you persevere, you’ll see the rewards. I’m seeing the rewards.”

THANK YOU Meet Janet MacPhee, UGM’s Associate Chaplain Reaching women and children on the Downtown Eastside Janet MacPhee is Union Gospel Mission’s Associate Chaplain and works closely with UGM’s Programs for Women and Children, such as the Women’s Drop-in Centre. She loves her work, but Janet also knows how vitally important it is to serve the women, children and families who live on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. “This community receives much attention in the press as a place of drug abuse and crime,” she explains. “But the reality is that in this same environment are people whose only crime is that they are poor – the mentally ill, the elderly, women and children. Many small family units are often headed by single mothers in public housing in increasingly unsafe neighbourhoods. We reach out to these women and children in tangible ways through ministries geared to their needs: drop-in centres, family meals, clothing, parenting support, afterschool children’s programs and summer camp sponsorships. UGM’s ministries are offered with support and care and we endeavour to be respectful of the dignity of the whole person.”

A Poem for the UGM Women’s Drop-in: Donors like you make it possible to minister to women and children through the Women’s Drop-in Centre. Here’s a poem written by Michelle, a guest at the Drop-in, to explain what this women’s ministry means to her:

It’s so nice to have a meeting place Where everyone knows your name and face, Sometimes the burden can be so heavy But there are friends who encourage And we in turn share with many. Jesus taught us how to treat one another Just as a child would be treated by her mother. Jesus would love us to Put ourselves in someone else’s shoes and In the humbleness of finding we are really blessed We know life could be harder so rise to the test. All in all the greatest command was To love God and all the rest will follow.

Associate Chaplain Janet MacPhee visits with a guest after our Thanksgiving Dinner

Come be part of the good things happening at the Women’s Drop-in. To volunteer, visit www.ugm.ca/ volunteer or call 604.215.5442

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Lately we’ve noticed one person’s junk … is still junk. There is a situation developing at the Union Gospel Mission Thrift Store. The donation bins are overflowing, the only problem is that most of it is stuff we can’t use. Many people view thrift stores as a guilt-free way to discard old clothing and clutter. The setback with these donations, even though they are well intentioned, is they end up costing the store money. The UGM Thrift Store is asking you to stop thinking of it as a donation, start thinking of it as a gift. Think of helping someone get a job. Your gift of clothing could give them the confidence they need for a job interview or simply a clean new outfit for the day. Think of a young couple just starting out. A home needs everyday items that work: small appliances, books and all the essential supplies.

Your donations will help change lives and provide hope for the hungry, hurting and homeless. Put some thought into it and give from the heart. Our visitors have the same needs as you, working appliances, even up-to-date and unstained clothing. Right now, there is a person who truly needs your donation. For more information on how you can get involved and a complete list of items we can accept please contact the Thrift Store at:

671 E Hastings Street, Vancouver BC, V6A 1R2

604.254.8721 [email protected]

PS – Get involved today, we need people to help sort, make phone calls and write letters like this one. Volunteers keep coming back to the Thrift Store because they love to see how their donations have helped change lives. Plus, you’d be surprised that such a tiny effort can have such an enormous effect.

Your old pots & pans can still warm a young tummy.

To make a donation, please contact our Thrift Stores:

We thank Tech-Web for donating resources to print this full colour newsletter.

Vancouver Store

Surrey Store

671 East Hastings St. 604.254.8721 9:00 am to 4:30 pm Tuesday - Saturday

10776 King George Hwy. 604.583.0069 Please call for current hours