Durwin

I just wanted to share with you a touching story about the success of one of our residents, Durwin.

It has been over one year since Hope Living moved to Kanata and life for Durwin couldn’t be better! When Durwin first came to Shepherds of Good Hope he was very introspective and did not relate well to others. He stayed in his room most of the time and did not speak to many people at all. Then a big change happened. The Hope Living program, along with Durwin left the chaotic downtown core and took residence at 145 Castlefrank Road in Kanata.

Slowly, Durwin came out of his shell. He said he was more relaxed in this new environment because the suburbs were quieter. He got away from the drugs and alcohol so prevalent on the streets of the inner core of the city and was able to concentrate on creating a better life for himself. The first thing he did was learn the bus routes so he could do his shopping and buy his food. After years of not playing piano he sat down at the piano in the residence and surprised everyone with his skill. The staff were thrilled and the other residents were pleased to hear this beautiful music coming from Durwin.

He also decided to learn a trade that would help him find work and so he chose bookkeeping. Durwin then did correspondence for the lessons in bookkeeping and studied quite hard. When he felt ready, he wrote exams and scored a whopping 83%! Durwin is now a certified bookkeeper. Durwin also keeps busy working in the residence tuck shop and emptying the vending machines and counting the money.

Durwin’s world has completely changed and so has Durwin. He is a new man with purpose, direction and goals. In this new environment and with continued encouragement from staff Durwin has no other place to go but up.

Thank You Shopify our Newest Community Partner

Shopify is truly an Ottawa success story, having grown in less than 10 years into one of the largest E-Commerce companies in the world! But we are very grateful that they have never forgotten their roots and have chosen to support the Shepherds of Good Hope in a variety of ways over the years.

That is why I was so pleased to have Richard and Tim from Shopify come for a visit and accept a Community Partner certificate on behalf of the company. As part of the kitchen team, Tim and Richard have ensured that any leftover food from Shopify's new Elgin St location has made its way to our Soup Kitchen and in the process they have provided thousands of meals for hungry men and women.

A big thank you to everyone at Shopify for all that you have done for the community and we look forward to continuing to develop a partnership in the years to come.

Thank You Connie

Many years ago Connie got the idea that she wanted to do something for those less fortunate. She decided to reach out to friends and start a collection of clothes and other items that could be put to good use at Shepherds of Good Hope. She didn't realize when she started that this would become a yearly tradition contributed to by everyone on her street and in her book club. Today Connie came in with all of the stuff she had collected last year and we got to thank her for helping to make a big difference. What is an old sweatshirt to one person, can become a prized possession for someone else or something to help our staff engage with Ottawa's most vulnerable men and women. Through this yearly act of kindness, Connie and her friends have impacted hundreds of people and we are very grateful for all their support. Thank You!