When Jaron heard about people sleeping on the street and needing blankets, he had the idea to decorate a big box and collect blankets in it.

So that’s what he did!

In the process, he received a Young Humanitarian Award from the Manitoba Teacher’s Society, and is splitting the $1,000 between Siloam Mission and Devoted to You Street Ministries.

Jaron also decided that he would like his donation to go towards sunscreen and deodorant for our guests this summer.

Thank you so much Jaron!

June 11, 2013 – As I reflect on Father’s Day, I can’t help but think that being a dad is the toughest job description I’ve ever had.

But when I get together with my children and grandchildren today, it’s also the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done.

These days, most of us believe that parenting is seen as the most significant factor in how children turn out.

Research shows the same.

Studies show that children of involved fathers are more likely to have higher levels of economic and educational achievement, be more resilient in the face of stressful situations, be more curious, achieve higher cognitive levels and be better problem solvers.

For the most part, I think the newest generation of fathers is doing a better job than my generation ever did.

Kids nowadays are given all kinds of opportunities, and more and more parents are focused on helping their children have a good start in life.

In my generation, and certainly in my dad’s generation, children were additional labour for the farm or business. That doesn’t mean we weren’t loved, but working on the homestead was very much part of my childhood.

Back then, our fathers had a lot to say about what we should or shouldn’t do in this world. To this day, I still carry the work ethic and moral fibre my dad instilled in us.

But for a segment of society, Father’s Day brings up a much different view of what dads have done to this world.

When I was a community chaplain through Corrections Services of Canada, it became very clear to me that the father figure in nearly all men in prison was either very abusive or totally missing.

Many men behind bars told me over and over again how their dads had abandoned them, abused them or never even bothered to meet them.

This is true of many people living on the streets as well.

When we start working with people at Siloam Mission to help them move forward, it typically involves dealing with trauma that happened at a very early age.

More often than not, abusive or absent parent figures are part of that equation.

Good parenting cannot be overstated as societal determinate — and strong families cannot be underestimated as the glue that forms strong communities.

I know there are exceptions.

Some abused children manage to change their realities and overcome their situations to become successful, and some kids who had supportive families make poor choices and end up involved in crime.

But at the end of the day, parents are given an incredible opportunity to speak into their children’s lives and be role models for the next generation of leaders.

I am convinced that all of us need someone to believe in us.

So, on this Father’s Day, I want to appreciate all the good dads out there who are not only raising their own children, but are looking out for their neighbour’s children as well by being a coach or mentor.

The difference you can make is astonishing — and you may even prevent someone from becoming homeless or ending in prison.

- Floyd Perras, Executive Director of Siloam Mission

Drop-In Hockey Game to Raise Food for Winnipeg’s Less Fortunate

When: July 13, 2013
Where: Corydon Avenue at Cockburn Street
Time: 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM

All ages and skill levels welcome! Just bring your hockey stick and a cash donation or non-perishable food item for Siloam Mission.

RSVP on Facebook

But what if you’re afraid to smile because of bad oral care?

On April 19th, Angelika Fletcher, Manager of Siloam Mission’s Saul Sair Health Centre, was in Ottawa to receive an Oral Health Promotion Award for 2012 from the Canadian Dental Association for Siloam Mission’s work to improve the oral care of men and women experiencing homelessness in Winnipeg.

The award recognizes individuals or organizations who have improved the oral health of Canadians through oral health promotion. This may involve creating public health policy or supportive environments, strengthening community action, developing personal skills, and/or increasing the prevention of oral diseases and disorders.

“This award belongs to the community we serve – the hundreds of men and women experiencing homelessness that we have the honour of helping and the privilege of calling friends,” said Angelika, “This award belongs to our volunteers, too. They are some of the most dedicated and compassionate people in Manitoba.”

Since August 2007, the Saul Sair Health Centre has been providing holistic healthcare to Siloam’s guests. Patients include the chronically addicted, the mentally ill, street workers, and those who are homeless or in danger of becoming homeless.

Services are provided with dignity and without discrimination based on race, gender, religion or identification.

Staff and volunteer health-care professionals of many fields provide care for Siloam’s patrons experiencing poverty and homelessness. Services include primary care, dentistry, physiotherapy, counselling services, chiropractic care, foot care, and health education.

The Canadian Dental Association is the national voice for dentistry, dedicated to the advancement and leadership of a unified profession and to the promotion of optimal oral health.

We are so honoured to be recognized for the great work that is being done every day at the Saul Sair Health Centre!

One attendee said, “Thanks for the tour! Awesome to see how you support and change lives of those less fortunate.”

While Siloam’s Open House was a chance for the public to see the inner workings of the organization, our doors are open to anyone wanting a tour Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

To book your tour, call 204.956.4344 or email info@siloam.ca.

Our next Open House will be held on October 5, 2013. We hope to see you there!

Last week, we lost a good friend at Siloam Mission.

On Thursday, at 3:45 p.m., after a lifetime of struggling with schizophrenia, Happy peacefully left this world.

He was 56.

I’m not sure anybody else will be missed as much as Happy – and I think all of our guests, volunteers and staff would agree with that.

Happy was the nickname everyone else called him by because, well, he simply made everyone around him feel happy.

He was the kind of person to stop and thank you every time he saw you.

He knew pretty well what everyone at Siloam did – including our volunteers – and went out of his way to thank people for their specific jobs.

Happy radiated a profound joy. He loved us, and we learned to reciprocate that.

He knew our spouses’ names, and childrens’ names, and would often inquire about them. He beamed with genuine pride and excitement when we told him of their accomplishments.

Most of all, Happy never missed an opportunity to encourage somebody else.

He made it easy to get out of bed every morning because we all knew he would brighten our day.

It was an intangible gift many of us had come to rely on that has created a hole in our community; a community that had become his family and his home.

Happy needed a lot of supports.

Without medication, his schizophrenia would turn very ugly very quickly.

I don’t know his whole story, but I do know mental illness is often a double-edged sword. People affected by it need other people around them for supports, yet the illness can often alienate those who they love the most.

But at Siloam, Happy did quite well.

He was on a steady regimen of meds that was working beautifully. In the drop-in centre, he would sit down at our old piano and play tunes he had taught himself.

Two days before going into the hospital he even received notice that he had been accepted into a Manitoba Housing unit not far from Siloam, so he could still come to our health centre for his medical supports.

When the Siloam Mission community got word he was in the hospital, Happy had a steady stream of visitors at his bedside.

I’m sure he was the most visited person in the hospital that week, if not month.

Two years ago we shot a promotional video for Siloam. Happy was one of the people we interviewed because of his genuine gratitude and testimony of how this place had helped him.

“I found lots of love in this place,” he says in the video, which you can see below.

“And that’s all I needed. All I wanted to be is loved.”

Happy may have found love at Siloam, but the truth is that he was a far greater blessing to the people around him than vice-versa.

I have often said that our lives are not measured by what we accomplish, but by what we endure.

Happy endured much, yet brought happiness to many.

Go in peace, old friend.

Winnipeg band Keith and Renee will perform at the 2nd annual Youth For Change Day.

Hazelridge School has been named the winner in a competition to raise funds for Winnipeg’s less fortunate.

Their social justice and citizenship goals were learning about homelessness and poverty while making a difference in lives of those less fortunate through their involvement with Siloam Mission and the Ladybug Foundation.

Collecting more than $14 per student for Siloam Mission, plus items like toothbrushes, toothpaste, soup, coffee, and coffee whitener, Hazelridge School has beat out other Manitoba schools to become the host of Siloam Mission’s annual Youth For Change Day on May 31, 2013.

The day will include an in-school concert by Keith & Renee as well as lunch provided by Danny’s Whole Hog & BBQ.

This school year alone, 55 different schools raised $15,700 for Siloam Mission and 35 schools toured the downtown shelter. We also gave presentations at 22 schools.

Thank you to all the amazing schools and students who helped out this year!

To get your school involved, contact our Community Education Coordinator, Beverly Atjay at beverly.atjay@siloam.ca or call 204.956.4344.

May 21, 2013 – If you have an elderly parent or relative, you know how difficult life can be for somebody who is starting to lose some of his or her capacity.

Life takes its toll on everybody.

Health complications, loss of mobility and depression are common among our aging population.

A growing concern of mine is the people who have been homeless and likely struggled with addictions or mental illness.

Life, too, is taking its toll on them – often times much more aggressively because their health has been in jeopardy for years already.

Imagine if you were homeless and you were starting to get dementia.

I’ve heard many stories from my friends and family about the difficulty of getting loved ones into a nursing home that will provide care for them.

It can take years of sitting on a waiting list.

Many nursing homes are privately run and place certain restrictions as to what barriers they are able to accommodate.

Addictions and mental health problems are often at the top of that list.

I understand why.

We ourselves have run into difficulties with some of the people living in our supportive housing project, The Madison.

We have seen people lose significant mental capacity within a matter of months, to the point where they could no longer manage themselves.

That’s been a significant challenge, especially if the resident has become uncooperative.

Adding to that challenge is the fact that some people simply don’t have any family who could help us in the search for the next step of care.

We have caseworkers that closely work with residents to find suitable housing options, but most care facilities have waiting lists that take years to get through.

The others are not interested in taking a formerly homeless person with mental health problems.

Recently, one of our residents who had been losing capacity would run the water in the bath tub and let it overflow because he simply forgot to return.

This happened several times, and even flooded the rooms below. The last straw came when he started a fire in his room.

At that point, even we were only left with one option.

We sent him to emergency, where he ended up staying 25 days before finding a better alternative.

However, something positive did come out of that experience; it led to us forming a community group to discuss what to do with people who are difficult to place anywhere else.

The people at the table are shelters, social agencies, hospital social workers and mental health workers.

After all, shelter providers and hospital emergency rooms send people back and forth regularly.

When a person is too much for the shelter to handle because of a severe mental health illness that’s putting other shelter users at risk, they’re sent to the hospital.

The hospital sees the person, but the person has no interest in being treated. So, the hospital discharges the person again, releasing them to the shelter or the streets once again.

There is a large gap for these folks to fall into.

As those who are homeless get older with the rest of us, how are we going to fill that gap?

- Floyd Perras, Executive Director of Siloam Mission

May 15, 2013 – What a p-arr-ty it was.

Last Friday we had the chance to honour Siloam Mission’s treasured compassionate and courageous volunteers who give of their time and expertise by throwing them a giant pirate-themed party.

Volunteers are the lifeblood of our city – they infuse Winnipeg’s dark places with vibrancy and resilience. The heart of the volunteer brings hope and comfort not only to those they help, but also to society as a whole.

Would you believe there are more than 8,100 of them at Siloam Mission alone, and growing? Combined, they make up the equivalent of more than 30 full-time staff.

Our volunteer force is among the most dedicated in the country – I’m sure of it.

We even celebrated one of our faithful volunteers reaching her 1,000th hour of volunteer service.

And while we don’t often get to celebrate their achievements publically, you should know that each one of them is deserving of a gold medal.

As one of our staff members pointed out, in a world where time is so precious, volunteers generously give of theirs for the benefit of others.

At Siloam Mission, volunteers have been at the heart of the organization since the very beginning in 1987.

Back then volunteers did everything — from opening the door in the morning, to fundraising, to accounting, to policy writing.

For the last 25 years, volunteers have built, driven and grown Siloam Mission to the 24/7 homeless service provider it is today.

They have kept us accountable at every step of the way, brought life and creativity into the everyday operations and most importantly, forged life-long friendships with less fortunate men and women.

Our volunteers haven’t just helped people beat the odds; they have changed the odds.

They have changed a lot of lives forever, and there’s no party big enough to thank them for that.

To many of the folks who have been — and are — on the receiving end of their help, they are heroes.

I’m sure you know some heroes in your community as well — ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

They might be individuals who are kind, noble, self-sacrificing champions of the underdog.

Or perhaps, they are someone who has made a lasting impression in your life, or has devoted their life to acting without thought of reward for themselves.

If you’ve ever wanted to recognize that person, now’s your chance.

Today we are announcing a partnership with the Winnipeg Blue Bomber Alumni, who are launching the Manitoba Heroes initiative.

For more than 82 years Manitobans have supported and celebrated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Now, the alumni would like to honour Manitobans making a difference in their communities.

Starting today, you can nominate your hero at www.manitobaheroes.ca, as long as they are alive and have lived in Manitoba for the last 10 years.

The Winnipeg Blue Bomber Alumni will then pick five very special Manitobans and honour them at the Manitoba Heroes gala on Oct. 26, 2013.

All proceeds from the gala will be donated to the Winnipeg Blue Bomber Alumni Legacy Fund and Siloam Mission.

I already know who I will nominate. How about you?

- Floyd Perras, Executive Director of Siloam Mission

More than 600 of our dedicated volunteers sailed over to p-arr-ty at our Pirate-themed Volunteer Appreciation event on May 10, 2013.

Hosted by Captain Jack Sparrow himself, we hoisted our sails and swabbed the deck, making sure the event was in ship-shape for our valued volunteer crew.

Danny’s Whole Hog generously provided dinner on the ship’s galley for our honoured mates.

There aren’t enough doubloons in the world to thank all of our 8,000+ volunteers who provide hope to so many of Winnipeg’s homeless men and women every day!

Thank you so much!