Homeless people come from all backgrounds

There is an interesting article about a group out west that wants the Alberta government to devote more resources to homelessness in rural communities. (Click here to read the story).

It reminded me that we can make quick conclusions about where homeless people come from. Yes, you will find more homeless people in the bigger cities like Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton and so on. But they didn't necessarily come from just around the corner to reach the shelter.

I met a homeless person recently who was from Russell. So how does someone in a small town end up in a big-city shelter? Sometimes it's because they can't find a job in their community, so they come to a larger centre like Ottawa to try to find work. They have the best of intentions, but things don't always go as planned. If you have moved here from a rural community or another part of the country, you can quickly find yourself down on your luck if you don't find work. A lot of people who move here looking for a better life don't have family support. They might not have friends who they know well enough to stay with.

We serve a lot of men and women who are new to Ottawa. A shelter is not their first choice, but often it's their only choice. When someone comes to Shepherds of Good Hope, we don't judge. It doesn't matter how far they have travelled or where they are originally from. It doesn't matter what their background is. They may have been struggling to make ends meet. They might have had what some consider a successful life but for a variety of reasons -- financial, health -- they lost those things and now they are turning to us for help.

During the Christmas season, please think of all the men and women who have moved to our great city to try to make a better life for themselves, to have the things that you and I have. Let's give them hope for the future. Please help.

We're looking for disposable razors

Everywhere I walk in the Byward Market, I see a lot of young men with beards. These young men are growing beards on purpose and some of them are still going with the man bun. I guess if you decide to wear a beard, you'll make your razor last a lot longer, especially if you're one of those men who doesn't care about trimming his beard around the neck line.

At Shepherds of Good Hope, we're not quite into fashion statements in the same way, but that doesn't mean it isn't important for men and women to have access to those things that will make life a little easier.

One of those things is a razor. We don't think of razors often as something a homeless shelter might need. But we have a lot of men in our care who are looking for work. We also have many men who are part of the Worker Program. This is a program for men and women who are working but have found themselves homeless or who have a strong desire to return to work.

When you go for a job interview, you like to put your best foot forward. You want to make a good impression. You want to go into the interview with some confidence. That can be difficult to do when you're living in a homeless shelter. It can be difficult to do something as simple as shave. Most men I know don't like to shave. But for the men in our care, it's a boost to the confidence, it adds a little self-respect when you can go to a job interview or start a new job clean shaven.

I know razors are expensive. All we're asking for are the disposable razors. We keep them in a drawer and we hand them out when someone needs one.

If you want to donate items to Shepherds of Good Hope, please consider a package of disposable razors. For more details, check out our donation page by clicking here.