By Bernie Forestell
In 1983, Father Jack Heffernan, the pastor of Saint Brigid’s, experienced a knock on his door and opened it to find someone asking for a sandwich. He offered one, and soon after more people approached him, asking for the same.
Father Heffernan placed an ad in the Ottawa Citizen, looking for volunteers. Together with community volunteers and his congregation, they opened a kitchen in the basement of the historic church to provide meals for those in need in Lowertown. At the first meal, volunteers outnumbered those arriving for food!!
Ottawa was a growing city of 770,000 people in 1983. Today, over one-million people call Ottawa home. A different Trudeau was Prime Minister and Ottawa’s Mayor was the late Marion Dewar.
Much has changed in forty years and throughout the rapid growth of the city, volunteers continue to serve at Shepherds of Good Hope. As the need grows, so does the compassion of our local community.
Today, Shepherds of Good Hope honours the spirit of Father Heffernan and his volunteers by listening and adapting to the needs of those who lean on us for help. We offer hope, dignity and respect to the thousands of people who come through our doors every year.
With a staff of 250 caring people, and hundreds of community volunteers including individuals, students or teams from local businesses, Shepherds of Good Hope continues to be there for those who need our help.
Spread across the city from Hope Living in Kanata to Richcraft Hope Residence on Montreal Road to St. Andrew Residence in Lowertown, across the Queensway to The Oaks and soon-to-be-opened 1095 Merivale Road, our supportive-housing residences with innovative programs and services are helping people who have experienced homelessness to obtain permanent housing across Ottawa and leave their life on the streets behind.
“Over the years, our Managed Alcohol Program has helped hundreds of people who live in supportive housing,” says Deirdre Freiheit, President and CEO. “Cities across Canada, Scotland and Australia have come to visit. They are opening programs of their own, inspired by my colleagues who help the people in their care find a new way to manage their alcoholism. This harm reduction approach is well supported by research and helps individuals stabilize their physical and mental health, while reducing the amount of alcohol they drink. This is one of several harm reduction programs we operate. To see how lives are changed as a result of these supports is truly a gift.”
What started as a meal and a place to see a smiling face has grown into a multi-faceted, multi-facility provider of harm-reduction services, supportive housing and care. Our supportive- housing residences across Ottawa and in Lowertown provide people who were experiencing chronic homelessness with the dignity of a permanent home of their own.
They are supported with health and wellness care (including mental health supports), social services, and programming that helps them to stay successfully housed.
“The way to reduce the number of people relying on emergency shelters is to ensure that supportive and affordable housing options are available to them,” notes Deirdre.
By mid-2023, thanks to the vision of Father Heffernan and his volunteers, Shepherds of Good Hope will be providing permanent housing to more individuals than those requiring shelter services.
Shepherds of Good Hope is working hard to be a part of the solution to ending chronic homelessness in Ottawa. As we move into our 41st year, our commitment continues.
Bernie Forestell is Philanthropy and Communications Advisor at the Shepherds of Good Hope.