Early season stats

A few stats from the season so far: we've been open 11 nights,with as many as 11 guests in one night. We've hosted 18 different guests this year, including six who have never stayed at our shelter before, at least two of whom have never stayed in any shelter before. In total, 57 bednights, representing 171 meals prepared and served with care, thanks to our wonderful volunteers.

Three night activation 18-20 Dec 2012

Shelter closing tonight after three nights activation. Five guests last night, although for the first time in the past 3 seasons, we had no one for dinner. So volunteers and staff enjoyed a wonderful meal of rice, chicken, veggies and brownies.

One fellow arrived before dinner, but wanted to sleep and the next guest didn't arrive till 9 pm. This is one indicator that conditions are not that extreme. On the extremely cold nights, we have lineups at the door by 6 pm. So, while it's always a bit tough to close, our guests should be fine. Two of the fellows are heading back to Vancouver where there are lots of shelter spaces available and where they've stayed before our shelter opened (they prefer to stay here in Richmond). Another is returning to sleep in his semi-trailer cab (he's a long haul truck driver who lives out of his truck). And I'm not sure about the other two. Richmond house is full and at least one is waitlisted with them.

Thanks to volunteers who helped this activation: Elisabeth, Kathe, Jamie, Bon, Diane, Rusty, Poy-yuk, Evie, Vickie, Hal, Jerry, Don, Joan, Helen, Jean and Lynn.

Merry Christmas and best wishes. We'll be open any night during the holiday period that the weather is extreme. We've put aside some stuffing and gravy from Tuesdays' Community Meal and bring it out the nearest day to Christmas opening.

Dec 8, 9 activation

We're closing tonight after a two day activation. Seven guests last night, although 1 left after dinner and 2 arrived just before breakfast. Two people new to the shelter, including one woman, our first woman of this season.

We closed out with a mega-breakfast, like we've never served before and it was all consumed like I've never seen before. It started innocently enough -- we planned to serve porridge (three of the volunteers are from Scotland, so that was a given) and pancakes, but I then I decided to add a protein, so we scrambled a dozen eggs. I pretty much knew we'd be closing, so we emptied the fridge of leftovers: fried up potatoes and ham from last night, heated up a large bowl of baked beans from yesterday's breakfast, made toast of the bread that wouldn't survive another day. We set out a bowl of yogurt and berries from last night's desert and sliced oranges. After all that was polished off, someone asked if we had any more cheerios left from yesterday's breakfast! We did and served him a bowlful. So heartwarming to see the contented look on people's faces as they ate what for many would be their only hot meal of the day. Two left pushing shopping carts, two on bikes and the others on foot.

I just now finished my rounds of taking down the extreme weather posters at the bottle depots and saw two of our guests, one sitting on the sidewalk out front of Brighouse station, panhandling, and the other riding his bike with a few cans he'd already collected. I'm glad their bellies are full of nourishing food.

Thanks to everyone who participated the past two days: coming in and cooking, socializing, cleaning up and those standing by for the next time we open up -- your efforts and presence really makes a difference in our guests' lives.

Best wishes to all and Happy Hanukkah. (I will save my Merry Christmas, hoping we'll open again near the 25th.)

Pausing to remember

Sunday, Nov 11 was one of those cold, grey days typical of Remembrance Day.   My wife Jan and I attended the service at the cenotaph, walking there from home to stand alongside people of all ages, outside in the elements,  pausing to remember the battles fought,  the lives lost,  and the peace we sometimes take for granted. It's a powerful experience that draws us back each year.

For many of those assembled, it was probably the coldest hour they'll spend all year.  Right after the ceremony, people hustled back to the warmth of their cars and homes.  I couldn't help thinking of our homeless citizens, knowing they spend the majority of their lives outside, battling the elements, battling poverty, with no warm home awaiting their return.    Many also battle addictions and mental illness, but unlike the wars our honoured vets fought, street battles rarely result in peace.  Lives are lost in the streets, not necessarily in the sense of death, but a loss of who they are or where they are going.  Fortunately, there's hope for those who wander the streets: hope they can find their way again through some life-altering change (housing is found, an addiction is in recovery, a mental illness stabilizes, a job is found) allowing them to return to a more normal life, with a warm home awaiting their return.

Until one of those life altering changes happens, one of the few hopes for a warm place to sleep is an extreme weather alert, and on this cold, wet Remembrance Day, that's exactly what happened.

Posters announcing the alert went up; shelter volunteers and staff were mustered; the furnace in the big hall at St Alban was fired up; sleeping mats and blankets were laid out and kitchen volunteers arrived and started filling the building with the aromas of homemade shepherd's pie and apple crumble.

So, at least for this one cold night in November, there was a warm place, a temporary home of sorts, for  a few of our street veterans.

I'm not suggesting we honour our street vets in the same way we honour our war vets, but I am suggesting we pause for a moment and remember the women and men who have no home and most likely are outside right now as you read this.

Familiar faces

Nov 1 marked the start of the extreme weather shelter season and we are all set to open once the temperature drops.   Most of our volunteers are returning from last year and we'll also be welcoming some new volunteers to the team -- we held an orientation session for new volunteers last week. Grace, our food coordinator, is back again, and all of our overnight staff and steering committee members are veterans from previous seasons.

In terms of returning guests, my expectation is that most guests will be new to the shelter this year, as was the case last season,  when 27 of the 36 guests we sheltered during the season were new.  At least nine of last year's guests are now in housing and likely more that I've lost touch with.  "Kip" has returned to work as a cook at a high-end restaurant at the airport.   "Dorothy" who had been living in a camper is now in a proper apartment.   "Will" is still in the basement suite he rented with "Maurice" last February, with a new roommate.  "Bud", "Buddy" and "Neil" are all sharing a house together with "Wally" from the previous season and two other formerly homeless individuals.   "Carlos" who used to be a teacher, and always wore a tie, sent us a nice letter thanking us for our hospitality along with a donation of $50 to the shelter.  

And sadly, two of last season's guests passed away earlier this year: "Maurice" at the age of 67 in February and "Milton" at the age of 56 in April.   Both were regulars at the shelter, both were an integral part of the community that formed each night we were open and both will be dearly missed.   We held a service for Maurice in March at St Alban Church and Milton's family held one for him, in June, in his hometown of London Ontario.  May they rest in peace.