Mission in the City: November 2020

Affiliate and Community Needs

HOPE AT CHRISTMAS

Our affiliate partners, and other organizations serving the community, have needs that you can help meet including prayer support. Some of these programs are being temporarily suspended, but prayer is always needed and you should consider how you might serve ongoing needs once Covid-19 has passed.

+ Details

  • Kickoff on Sunday, November 15!
  • Watch for details and support our partner organizations during this season leading up to Christmas.

PREGNANCY CARE CENTRE

  • PCC's Annual Fundraising Event "It Starts With Love" (link) will happen on Saturday, November 7th 2020 at 7:30pm (livestream)

    • Join for an evening of client testimonies and a keynote address by broadcaster Lorna Dueck

    • Learn more about one of our valued ministry partners and how through their work they are helping women thrive knowing that abortion is not their only option

    • Consider hosting a 'PCC Watch Party' in person or virtually; invite friends and family within your social bubble, grab some snacks, and watch together, or gather virtually with friends

      • For more information, contact Rosemarie Friesen (rosemarie@gracetoronto.ca)

  • To make an online donation to support the work of the PCC, please visit https://pccfriends.ca/donations/ (link)

  • Needed items for new mothers/parents:

    • Clothing, diapers (sizes 1,2,3), wipes, formula, and furniture (crib, car seat, stroller, etc.)

      • Deliver items to 15 Hove Street, Suite 100, North York, ON M3H 4Y8 - Bathurst & Sheppard

  • Help expectant and new mothers find suitable housing

  • Volunteers needed -- women to walk alongside expecting mothers, and men to walk alongside soon-to-be fathers

    • Downtown location (U of T campus)

    • Tuesdays or Thursdays; afternoons (3-6pm) and evenings (6-9pm); once-a-month commitment

    • Saturdays; virtual based on appointments

PRAYER REQUESTS

  • Prayer for pregnant women who are calling and saying that with COVID-19 it is not a good time to have a baby

  • Prayer that PCC moms will connect with church communities, so they feel supported and not isolated

  • Prayer for the downtown office’s continued growth to reach women in the downtown core

  • Prayer for the staff as they continually have to adapt during this time


ADAM HOUSE

  • Assemble and donate fruit baskets to the residents to help sustain and encourage them

    • Grace team continues to send weekly fruit packages to residents in Adam House and Adam House North

    • Each package contains an apple, a tangerine, an orange and a Bible verse of encouragement

    • Individuals or GGs can help by committing to a single week, or joining the regular rotation

  • GGs needed who are interested in sponsoring meals on Tuesday

    • Tuesday Bible Fun Time has now moved online and this has enabled Adam House North to participate as well

    • Adam House is looking for GGs to sponsor meals for either or both houses

      • Adam House Downtown has 13 adults, 6 children and 3 babies

      • Adam House North has 8 adults, 2 children and 2 babies

      • If you are interested, please contact the Executive Director, Lucy Chaimiti, directly at lchaimiti@adamhouse.org or 416-522-6310

  • Needed items:

    • diapers (sizes 2, 4, 5) and formula for several infants

    • winter gear (used/"like new" with working zippers)

    • blenders

      • Heavily used in the Adam House kitchen; Adam House would like to gift one to each resident/family for Christmas so they have one when they move out

    • gift cards so residents can purchase these items themselves

  • Assemble and donate kitchen Start Up Kits (~$120) for residents leaving the house to settle in the community (Rosemarie has contents details)

  • Volunteers in the North York area are needed to form a circle of support for families living in Adam House North

  • For questions and more information, contact Tim and Danyao at https://bit.ly/GraceAHTeam

PRAYER REQUESTS

  • Prayer for residents that Adam House be a pitstop on their long journey of asylum-seeking where they can get some rest and care, and meet some new friends who can support them in their journey forward

  • Prayer for residents who moved out of Adam House, that God put good neighbours into their lives who can help them adjust to life in their new communities


LIGHT PATROL

  • Needed items to support current outreach:

    • $5 Tim Hortons gift cards to hand out during outreach

    • 10 pairs of sweatpants in medium and large sizes

      • For youth we recently connected with who are sleeping outside

    • Men’s and women’s underwear in medium and large sizes

  • (Urgent) Drivers needed for some outreach nights on Mondays and Thursdays

    • Both the RV and the 12-seater health van need drivers

    • No special license requirements needed; though for the RV, the volunteer should have experience driving RVs (comfortable controlling a large vehicle downtown)

PRAYER REQUESTS

  • Prayer for new youth to be open to receiving help and that that will lead to building important relationships in their lives


SAFE FAMILIES

  • Individuals who would be willing to become "family friends" to families who don't have family or friends in the city and need tangible support during these difficult times

  • GGs needed who are willing to be trained through Safe Families to create a circle of neighbourly support for a family in crisis in our city

PRAYER REQUESTS

  • Prayer for insight, wisdom, and compassion so that staff and volunteers can develop meaningful relationships with every family they serve and that Jesus would be at the centre and direct every relationship He has entrusted to their care

  • Prayer for God to provide support, comfort, and for the needs of families who struggle in isolation, now more than ever

    • A few single mothers have been strained from carrying the full burden of parenting without time to recharge; they have been struggling with isolation and anxiety for some time; the pandemic is now compounding these struggles.

  • Prayer for a spirit of hospitality to grow among churches in the GTA

    • There has been an increase in referrals of parents not able to receive medical care due to a lack of child care for their children; please continue to pray for volunteers to join the team in both the Host Family and Family Friends roles

    • Prayer that the right Circle of Care can be placed around every family that needs support


SQUADS

  • Join program for elementary kids, Thursday evenings

  • Needed items for kids: creative supplies like markers, paint, glue, scissors

    • Please email Kanga Foot (Kangaskidz@gmail.com) for drop-off instructions

    • For financial donations, cheques are preferred, addressed to 'The Salvation Army Downtown East'. Alternatively, donations can be made through the online donation portal (sadowntowneast.com) — select “Ontario” and “Toronto Downtown East Community Church”

PRAYER REQUESTS

  • Prayer for the Squads Ministry as they move into their new building

  • Prayer that during this time of quarantine, leaders and kids can meet together online to study the Bible, that the leaders would deliver the curriculum well, and the kids would have the necessary equipment to join

  • Prayer for safety for the volunteers and children who assemble for in-person classes


TORONTO CITY MISSION

PRAYER REQUESTS

  • Prayer for good health for all children and staff who are back to school

  • Prayer for protection over the communities as there has been an increase of violence

  • Prayer for wisdom to stay safe as we start in-person programs again with children, TLCs, volunteers, and staff


THE DALE MINISTRIES

  • Donations needed: masks (disposable or homemade), sanitizer, soap, containers for takeout food

  • Financial support needed (www.thedale.org/donate)

  • Volunteers needed to check-in with community members virtually

PRAYER REQUESTS

  • Prayer for people who are experiencing growing loneliness, fatigue, and fear as the pandemic drags on, that the burden and weight on them would be lifted


HOMELESS CONNECT TORONTO

PRAYER REQUESTS

  • Prayer that HCT can continue to find spaces to operate that meet health guidelines and for the safety of volunteers working in restricted spaces

  • Prayer that adequate donations come in to sustain operations and that people stay engaged with HCT during these difficult times


GOOD SHEPHERD

  • Volunteers needed to help make 800+ sandwiches per day and have them delivered to the drop-in at 412 Queen Street East between 8:30 am-4:00 pm

    • Drop off donations at back door of the centre, located off Sydenham Street. Go north on Tracy Street from Queen – the first stop sign is Sydenham and make a left and then the first left is the driveway to the back of Good Shepherd.

  • Need food supplies including mayonnaise, mustard, cheese slices, packaged snacks (eg. granola bars, cookies, potato chips, dried fruit), portable fruit (eg. apples, oranges, bananas), canned tuna and meat, peanut butter and jam, juice boxes, bottled water, ground coffee, and tea.

  • Need supplies for the medical clinic including hand sanitizer, alcohol swabs, Imodium, Benylin, Reactine, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, Vicks VapoRub, Polysporin, and Visine.

  • Good Shepherd also accepts monetary contributions.


SANCTUARY

  • Our community is made up of people who are homeless, marginally-housed, street-involved, and poor, many of whom are living lives on the margins because of larger systems of oppression and injustice. Prior to Covid-19, there were already many gaps in resources for this community; many of these gaps and lacks have been amplified and exacerbated during this pandemic.

  • For ways to help, read this document (link) written by Lorraine, an outreach worker at Sanctuary.


YONGE STREET MISSION (YSM)

  • Donations of bread, fruit (especially oranges), potatoes, milk, and yogurt

  • Donations of toothpaste, body wash, soap, shampoo, conditioner, and other toiletry items

  • Donation Drop-Off

    • Location: The Davis Centre, 270 Gerrard Street East

      • Drive to the back of the building into the laneway to the cage

    • Best drop-off days are Mondays and Wednesdays between 10 am and 3 pm

    • Contact Zana or receptionist at 416-929-9614 press "0", or email both Zana (zferataj@ysm.ca) and receptionist (receptiondept@ysm.ca)

  • Encouraging notes needed.

    • Our community members are struggling with a lot right now, especially isolation. We cannot connect with them in person; however words of encouragement can alleviate some of the stresses they are feeling. We would like to place a note of encouraging words into the hundreds of meal bags we give out every day.

    • Here is a link for any church member who would like to write an encouraging note to a community member. The note will be printed and placed in a meal bag.

  • Volunteers needed:

    • help people build their networks,

    • individual mentorship,

    • language proficiency tutoring, and

    • family-to-family mentorship (especially, Black families)

  • For all monetary donations, please go to www.ysm.ca (link) and donate online, or call 416-929-9614 and press “0” to donate over the phone


For more information contact: rosemarie@gracetoronto.ca


New Volunteer Opportunities


FIGHT4FREEDOM

  • Fight4Freedom is an organization that works in the GTA with women, children and men enslaved in the sex trade. In addition, they offer aftercare, advocacy, and referral support to individuals who are ready and able to transition into alternate work. They are currently recruiting qualified individuals for the following roles:

    • Street Outreach

      • Commitment: minimum 1 year, weekly outreach

      • Outreach time: Fridays from 10:30pm-2:30am (usually it doesn't take up the whole 4 hours)

      • Through our street outreach ministry, we continue to journey with women in Toronto who are involved in sex work and often face challenges related to housing, substance use and mental health. During outreach time, we walk around the neighbourhood where it's known to have sex-work-related activities. We approach individuals with gifts and try to start up conversations. We listen as they share stories about their upbringing, relationships and long-distance parenting. From these stories, the common narrative that often emerges is one of intergenerational trauma perpetuated by cycles of criminalization and structural violence – many share about growing up in foster care, getting recruited into the sex industry, using street drugs to self-medicate, having 3-8 children apprehended due to addictions and then being incarcerated for drug possession. We continue to pray that our relationships with these ladies would allow us to speak truth and hope into the narratives that distort their sense of worth and identity. At a systemic level, both our ministry and survivor care departments are working with community partners to provide survivors and individuals who would like to exit with health support and to develop sustainable employment opportunities.

    • Club or Parlour Outreach

      • Commitment: minimum 1 year, monthly outreach and prayer gathering

      • Outreach time: one evening a month between Monday to Thursday for outreach; one evening a month for prayer and gift bag preparation; meet up time varies between 6-9pm; each outreach usually is within 3 hours time

      • Each club or parlour outreach team goes to the same strip club or parlours every month. The team approaches a club and asks entry permission from the club manager. Once allowed access, the team will go to the main area and approach individuals working there with gifts and try to start up conversations. For parlour outreach, the team approaches a parlour and tries to start up conversations with the individual who answers the door. We listen as they share stories. Same as street outreach, we continue to pray that our relationships with these ladies would allow us to speak truth and hope into the narratives that distort their sense of worth and identity. At a systemic level, both our ministry and survivor care departments are working with community partners to provide survivors and individuals who would like to exit with various support and to develop sustainable employment opportunities.

    • NOTE: Volunteers may encounter nudity during outreach. It is an asset to be bilingual in English and Chinese for parlour outreach.


  • If you are interested, please contact Rosemarie Friesen: rosemarie@gracetoronto.ca