An Advocate for the Forgotten

The reason for which I am in this ministry to help the homeless has rung truer than ever recently… a deep compassion for human dignity. I recently got involved with advocating for the health and welfare of one of the clients that we serve at The Open Door.  I will call him Dan to protect his identity. 

 

Dan is an older gentleman in his late 60s who has progressively become frailer as a result of a lot of time spent outside. This past winter was very cold and it was especially hard on him. We had not seen him in months, but we knew that he was sleeping in the Metro stations (Montreal’s subway system), that the food service workers at the nearby Alexis Nihon Mall were feeding him donations, and that the Mall Security personnel were protecting him.

 

Just recently, Montreal police officers escorted Dan to see us after members of the local public had expressed a concern for his welfare. The police officers asked us to give him a shower, new clothes and food. We were able to provide him with clean clothes and food, but we unfortunately do not have showers for our clients. The next day, we were made aware that he was back in the Metro station but very weak and frail. With the help of an Outreach Worker, I helped Dan walk back to The Open Door so that we could help him.

 

Soon after we got Dan back to the drop-in centre that day, he asked to be taken to the hospital. Yet he was also very afraid because he had had a bad experience with being released from the same hospital after only a day of being treated. So, I called for an ambulance to take him to the hospital and told him that I would go with him so that he would not have to go alone.

 

I made sure that Dan was settled in the ER of the hospital and told him that I would return later in the day to check up on him. I did return 8 hours later and, to my great surprise, found him in the exact same state that I had left him that afternoon! None of the ER staff had checked on him or even wanted to help him. How is it conceivable that just because someone is homeless means that they will receive the least amount of treatment humanly possible? It was at that point that I, heartbroken for this man and frustrated with the hospital staff, realized that I needed to advocate on his behalf for proper care.

 

 

 

The first thing I did was pray for and comfort Dan. Then I tried to find a nurse who would provide care to him. Unsuccessful, I used my previous experience as a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) and took it upon myself to clean him up. I found the linen closet, a gown, gloves and some wipes and did the best job that I could. Then I went to find the Physician in charge and advocate for better care for him. I can see why Dan was afraid to go back to the hospital after I saw the way they treated him!

I decided to stay with him during the night so that I could make sure that the ER doctors and nurses were providing him with continuous care. Fortunately, I started to see a change of perspective about Dan amongst the staff. He is very weak and appears to be at the end of his rope in life… and thankfully the staff at the hospital are seeing his humanity, not just that he is homeless, and are showing him compassion in providing his care.

 

 

This experience has been a shocking and eye-opening view of how our society treats the homeless. Yet Jesus has a very different perspective of those who are in need… “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” Matthew 25:35-36. Please continue to pray for me as I serve and help those who are homeless in Montreal, and please pray for Dan.

Trainings that have helped me serve those in need in Montreal

Since being with The Open Door, I have had the opportunity to participate in several training programs, all of which have helped me understand and work more effectively with the population that frequents The Open Door.

·        In February, I attended a training seminar on helping and protecting vulnerable adults similar to the clients we serve at the Open Door.

·        In March, I participated in a two-day Motivational Interviewing course, in which I learned a basic therapeutic approach for helping clients strengthen their motivation and commitment to change by exploring their own argument for their change. Rachel Green, Ph.D. is a psychologist, counsellor and Motivational Interviewing workshop facilitator, as well as the founder of dancing gecko  http://www.motivationalinterviewingmontreal.org/

 

 

·        In May, I attended a training session called “Aboriginal Awareness”, based on the needs of the First Nations population (Native Indigenous people of Canada, similar to the Native Americans of the US). I learned about their history in Canada, how the Catholic and Anglican Churches tried to incorporate the western belief systems into their culture, and practical ways to best respect and treat them as a unique sector of the population. This training was held at the Native Friendship Centre of Montreal Inc. http://nfcm.org/.

 

 

The Native Friendship Centre of Montreal (NFCM) has provided continuous quality services to the urban Aboriginal population of Montreal and their families and is the only comprehensive service and referral point in the Greater Montreal Area (GMA) in relation to health, social services, legal, orientation/information, education, training, and employment referral for those migrating to or through the city including those from across Quebec, Canada, and the Americas.

 

Summer is here at the Open Door

First of all, Happy Canada Day! July 1st is Canada’s national holiday.
 

As for an update on how things are going at The Open Door, it has been an exciting season of change!

The Open Door recently hired a new Assistant Director, who I have been training on the operations of the center in order to help with the workflow. His name is David Chapman and he is an ordained Anglican Priest who has experience with the First Nations people. It is a great blessing and an answer to prayer that he is now working with us and we are already working well together as a team! The addition of David to the team will allow Caleb to focus on spending more one-on-one time with clients, networking with other organizations and fundraising.

We also hope to soon hire a Program Coordinator to help with coordinating projects for our clients to work on, and therefore remain busy, during the hours we are open.

We have recruited new volunteers, including a gardener, a music therapist, and a cook. Three summer intern students will also be working at The Open Door for July and August to help with activity coordination and social services.

 

As a result of this increase in staff and volunteers, we have, as of two weeks ago, increased our hours of operation by 2.5 hours per day. We will now be opening an hour earlier, at 7:30 am, and closing an hour and a half later, at 3:30 pm, each day of the week in order to meet the needs of our homeless friends.

On a more personal note, check out this video I posted the other day on my YouTube channel…