WHY FAITHWORKS?

Benefits for Ministry Partners

FaithWorks ...

·     Informs people throughout the Diocese about a Ministry Partner and its particular ministry.

·   Inspires people to offer support as donors and volunteers, through understanding of and connection to a ministry.

·   Provides a source of funding for Ministry Partners.

·   Reduces financial instability for Ministry Partners due to changing public attention and current events by pooling funds so all funding requests can be met as much as funds are available.

·     Saves Ministry Partners fundraising efforts and expenses as FaithWorks is responsible for these within Diocesan parishes.

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The following update from our ministry partner,

One Roof Community Centre in Peterborough, 

is an example of the work that your donation to FaithWorks supports.

By the Rev. Canon Brad Smith

(August 2022)

One Roof Community Centre is proud to be a FaithWorks partner and is grateful for the generous support of Anglicans across the Diocese of Toronto. The funding we receive from FaithWorks enables us to continue our ministry to community members living with homelessness, poverty, and food insecurity. One Roof is part of the community ministries of St John the Evangelist Anglican Church in Peterborough, which have addressed needs around housing, employment, and food through a staffed program since 2014. Growing out of a lunch program that began almost 30 years ago, today One Roof provides between 180 and 250 meals, depending on the time of the year, to community members every day as well as a drop-in centre for dining, recreation, access to social services, and shelter during extreme cold and hot weather. One Roof is the only community meal program in the City of Peterborough and without it many vulnerable community members would go without nutritious meals, companionship, and access to vital services.

Jen Turtscher is a floor supervisor at One Roof. She came to the program as a placement student from Fleming College, where she graduated from the Mental Health and Addiction Worker and Social Service Worker programs. She was hired into her full-time position in August 2021. We asked her to share with us a little about her experience at One Roof so far.

Jen came from a very small town in Ontario where there was no obvious homelessness or challenges like the ones she sees our guests experiencing every day. “When I first moved to Peterborough, I had some fear. I wondered if street people were dangerous and it was very scary in the beginning walking down the street. I was warned not to be out at night, or on this street, etc. I never thought I would be working directly with people who are on the streets and I think that was a whole stereotype for me that really changed because, honestly, I don’t feel that way at all now. I don’t feel like I’m unsafe around our community members, in fact, I feel quite the opposite: I feel safe with them and safe when I go downtown, too. It’s just that whole stereotype thing, that people fear and judge what they don’t know. In fact, there are few people I would rather speak to in the world than these people. They’re real and the honesty that comes out of them, it’s beautiful when they share.”

Many of One Roof’s guests have experienced—and continue to experience—trauma in their lives that contributes to situations involving homelessness, addiction, lack of access to nourishing food and supports, mental health challenges, and anti-social or criminal behaviour. Jen’s experience working at One Roof and using her skills at listening and relationship building have allowed her to establish trust with community members in difficult circumstances. One guest who repeatedly suffered from drug poisoning was supported by staff through a particularly tough time and has now been overdose-free since March 2022. Others who are typically closed off for fear of being hurt open up when they meet Jen’s empathy and share how hurtful it is to see how other people think of them, like when parents with young children cross the street when they see homeless people coming. Jen highlights that One Roof staff are able to win the trust of community members “because we treat them with dignity, compassion, and respect, and we’re non-judgemental. I’m hearing from them how nice it is to experience that because what they experience on the streets is the total opposite:  they get judged all the time, nobody wants to talk to them, they get treated differently, the stigma, the discrimination, so for us here, it’s about building trust, which is not an easy thing for a lot of our people. They’ve been through a lot of trauma, so being compassionate allows them to connect with us and it’s a pretty special. We share stories, we celebrate successes, we wipe their tears, we share some laughs, and it’s a beautiful thing.”

In addition to the obvious ministry of One Roof in providing meals, drop-in space, and harm reduction supplies, staff work hard to advocate on behalf of the community members served by the program, both to various levels of government and to citizens who see the people who come to One Roof in a negative light. When you look past the rough exteriors of many of the people who make up the community of One Roof, you begin to see that they, too, are beloved children, many of whom are suffering deeply from multi-layered trauma. It is a privilege for One Roof to be able to come alongside our neighbours to provide a meal, a listening ear, a safe space, and access to needed supports. For both the guests and the staff and volunteers, the ministry of One Roof Community Centre in Peterborough is life-changing. 

And, as Jen said above, that’s a beautiful thing.

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PWRDF is supporting international and local partners providing emergency relief to Ukrainians.

You can donate by clicking here

PWRDF @ FaithWorks

and designating your gift to PWRDF

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