"What if we could do more?" by the Sanctuary Nurses

City of Refuge
S A N C T U A R Y
M I N I S T R I E S
O F
A Voice from the Street
T O R O N T O
Fall 2008 • Vol. 7- Issue 3
"What if we could do more?"
by the Sanctuary Nurses
Reg, a 48 year old man, walked into the clinic, breathing heavily and wanting Tylenol for chest pain.
When Keren listened to his breathing, it sounded like "the soundtrack to a hurricane." We quickly realised that he was in acute congestive heart failure. He confirmed that, saying that he had seen his family
doctor that day, and been told that unless he went to a hospital, he would be dead by morning.
He said that going to a hospital was out of the question. We offered to buy him a meal, drive him to
whichever hospital he would like, anything... he wouldn't go. He thought they might make him stay
overnight, and he couldn't bear to stay inside that long; he had spent too much of his life in jail and
institutions and being forced to sleep inside for the night felt like more than he could handle.
We watched him throw his backpack over his shoulder and leave, saying he would spend the night
outside. Afterwards, we sat together for a while, too disheartened and afraid for his health to face the
next people on our list. Wondering what we could have done differently. Wondering if would see him
again.
While our friend's experience was dramatic and urgent, it was not unusual. Everyday, we watch our
friends battle diseases that could be treated easily if they could spend a night or two in the hospital. Or,
if the hospitals could offer care without making them stay overnight.
Many of our friends have issues that make it hard to put themselves into the care of a strange and
institutional system. Addiction, mental health issues, previous abuse by authority figures, and a host
of other factors keep our friends away from hospitals. We have friends with cancer, abscesses, heart
diseases – all of the physical consequences of both being homeless and being human, and we can do
so little compared to what they both need and deserve.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
In the past few years, we've started dreaming. What if we could do more? Recently, the dream has
started taking a more discernible shape: a safe place where friends could come and go with welcome,
whether they have been using or not; access to more intensive health care without forms or long waits;
inpatient care without an institutional feel; care that feels like the Sanctuary they know and trust.
A View from Here....................... 2
An infirmary – halfway between clinic and hospital – run Sanctuary-style.
Building Renovations............... 3
Financial Update....................... 3
Book Launch Ad......................... 3
Staff Updates............................... 4
Faces of Our Community........ 5
Street Level Ad........................... 5
Gift of Dignity............................. 6
Arts Extravaganza Ad............... 6
It's a big dream. It would require space, tripling our current nursing staffing, and ongoing resources for
supplies, food, and other operational details. We don't know when or how we could do it, but we know
that we need to. There are so many issues and obstacles to face that we are not sure how to make this
desire into a tangible reality. But we dream of the day when we can say to our friend, Reg, "Why don't
we hook you up to an IV now, and then you can leave for a few hours and come back whenever – day
or night – you're ready to see us next;" when our friend "W" can knock on our door at 2 in the morning
and say, "My hand's swollen up to twice its size. The wait in the emergency room is 6 hours, and I can't
go that long without using, but I need help;" when a friend with a flu can get better faster, because they
aren't sleeping under a bridge; when we can invite a friend with an 8 am appointment with a medical
specialist to sleep overnight, and then wake them up in time to get there.
We aren't sure about the next steps, but as our supportive community, we need to share our dreams with
you. Perhaps this is, in fact, our next step. Would you be willing to join us and dream together?
A View From Here
Our worship gatherings are like improv comedy – sometimes the worship is brilliant, coming at and
out of us from angles nobody could ever plan, lighting up our dark little lives; other times it’s like some
middle-aged schlump with bad teeth and a hairpiece delivering one-liners that all his buddies in the
shipping department think are real thigh-slappers.
Tonight it was as vibrant as a mackerel twitching feebly in the bottom of an aluminum boat.
Greg Paul
Angus showed up again, almost sober, and sat on the stairs outside the auditorium. Under an umbrella,
for some reason. He still has a bed at a nearby hostel, but may not stay because the bed bugs have been
eating him for the past few nights.
Max arrived late, and he was flying too, although he claimed he’d only had one beer. Banging up the
stairs, carrying his bicycle, and loudly announcing as he came through the door (the rest of us were
trying to settle to a moment of quiet reflection) that there was no need to announce his arrival since
he was always so loud.
Joseph, a man in his late twenties who struggles with schizophrenia, lost his father, with whom he had
been living, about a week and a half ago. Joseph and his brother – his adult, non-verbal, psychologically
wrecked brother – are packing up their stuff, because they’ll need to leave their father’s apartment in a
month and a bit, but they don’t know where they’ll be going. So Joseph, who is understandably feeling
even more fragile than usual, yelped and screamed through some of the songs we sang.
For the past couple of months, Danny has been encouraging people to think about the songs they call
out, so that the song will actually be an expression of worship, instead of just a melody the requester
is fond of and would like to hear yet again. He didn’t say anything about that tonight, and those few
people who are quite content to hear the same song every week got right back at it. Felt more like
people popping quarters in a jukebox than real worship.
Manuel showed up even later than Max, changed seats two or three times, went out to the washroom
and came back by the most circuitous route possible, and got involved in a long, loud discussion with
Max about something Max wanted him to have and Manuel wasn’t sure he wanted to receive just as we
were trying to start a quiet, reflective song to lead us into communion. I swear, I’m going to find an
adult-sized jolly jumper and hang Manuel in it. Everybody will be happier, including Manuel, who will
be able to bounce and jitter to his heart’s content.
Later, Annie tried to address our tendency in prayer time to focus on ourselves – and I do mean on our
selves: we have a few avid warriors who pray extensively and passionately and almost exclusively about
their own needs and struggles. So she said that, over the next month or so, she would be encouraging
us to pray about other places in the world, starting, this week, with the Middle East. The first person
who prayed covered every country, region, religion and ethnic sub-group several times and at great
length, then threw in a prayer for herself. I felt like standing up and saying, “Well, that about covers
it, folks – let’s go home.” The second person who prayed did the same thing, but a little slicker and a
little longer.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Andy Burgess - Chairman
Merv Mercer - President
Erica Brewster - Treasurer
Matthias Benfey - Director
Eleanor Clitheroe - Director
Ted Smith - Director
Cindy Gladstone - Director
John Anderson - Director
Blair Lewis - Director
They went on so long, the two of them, that there was no time for anybody else to pray, so Danny
spoke up and led us in the Lord’s Prayer, before someone else could drag us along on another spiritual travelogue. When we were done, and people were actually starting to stand up, Manuel took off
on one of his stream-of-consciousness prayers. And, may I say, his stream often does not follow the
riverbed…
Our worship times are rarely what anyone would call normal. All these bizarre things happen pretty
routinely, but sometimes they seem ineffably sweet, and God very near. More often than not, when the
presence of the Spirit is most powerfully evident among us, the glory is shining from our most broken
brothers and sisters.
Tonight, though, was about sixty percent dullness, punctuated by thirty percent aggravation. As far as
my own sluggish soul was concerned, anyway.
…continued on page 4
Page 2
Building Renovations
Some great improvements have been taking place over the last few months around this old building
that we call home. They are not all the sorts of things that you would notice unless we pointed them
out but we are grateful to have them looked after.
The Ontario Trillium Foundation graciously provided us with funding to:
• tuckpoint the whole building – a very big job!
• replace the windows in our drop-in space (Yahoo! They actually open now to let a breeze through as well as lots of natural light),
• replace the windows in our loft area (great for energy
efficiency); and,
• implement a master key system throughout the building so that our staff aren’t weighed down with keys.
And a group of young adults spent a day here on September
20th, replacing old, broken and stained ceiling tiles in our
office space. Thanks to Home Depot for donating the tiles
and to the team from The Stone Church for putting them
in. The office looks much more presentable!
The Ontario Trillium Foundation is an agency of the Government of Ontario.
Financial Update
We continue to be grateful for God’s faithful provision through friends like many of you who are reading this issue of City of Refuge. Revenue and expenses are both coming in just about where they need
to be. But as you read the rest of the newsletter, you see new staff coming on board, you read about
our dreams for the future and we are ever aware of how dependent we are on your generous support
of this vital work. The last few months of every year are always crucial to the overall financial health of
Sanctuary and so we thank you, in advance, for your prayerful support of our Sanctuary family.
Page 3
Staff Updates
Nada Thomson began hanging out around Sanctuary about 2 years ago. At the time, she was kind of
looking for a new church home and kind of looking for a place to volunteer. Even better though, she
found herself feeling right at home here! While running her own business, Artful Organizers, she made
time still to join us on many Thursday nights as well as on Sundays for our worship service.
Nada Thomson
When we approached Nada about joining the staff here, she was absolutely delighted. And since she
started in mid-August, we have been the glad beneficiaries of her cheery disposition, her warmth, her
energy and her love for God. Along with the pastoral care that she will be offering to our community,
Nada will be our first ever “Donor Relations” person – focusing on caring for and communicating with
the many folks who support us financially.
Melodie Ng may be a familiar name to those who read these newsletters or who have come to one
or more of our Arts Extravaganzas. She has been a fixture around Sanctuary for several years already,
contributing in many ways: helping in the kitchen, delighting us with dance, impressing us with her
photography, leading our Friday Arts Drop-In and doing so much more. But all of that was before she
was actually “on staff ”.
We have rectified that situation and Mel is officially on the team now as of September 8th. She is halftime for now but we look forward to corralling her into a full-time position after she has completed
an Arts Therapy course which she will be taking in the Spring. Mel’s delightful personality and really
evident gifting will continue to be a tremendous gift to our Sanctuary family.
Melodie Ng
Speaking on behalf of Nada and Melodie, thank you, in advance, for your prayers for them as they
adjust to their new roles and the added depth of pastoral involvement that they will have in our Sanctuary community.
Please also consider supporting them financially in their work here. As with all of our staff, these
women will be involved in building a team of supporters who will stand with them both financially
and through prayer. If you are able and willing to support them, please let us know and we will gladly
put you in touch!
A View From Here …continued from page 2
Somewhere in the remaining ten percent were these two moments:
The lovely and melancholic Mel, after we have sung “Farther Along”, and lapsed into a catatonic state
for a minute or two, approaches the table. Lifting the bread she says, hesitantly, “I guess farther along
we’ll know all about it. All I know right now is this” and she breaks the bread. “Amen” some people
mutter. “Come and eat,” she says.
After a couple of musical non sequitirs and (I’m not making this up) a prayer for revival in Morocco,
Ken gives thanks for the cup. He stutters, as usual – not repeated sounds, but long silent gaps, in which
his mouth opens wide, his tongue rolls over, waggling frantically, and he pounds his chest with one
twisted hand in an effort to eject the recalcitrant words – but, as usual, his words are so beautifully
thankful and uplifting that no one minds waiting for them. Then he rolls his motorized wheelchair
forward and, with deeply simple solemnity, reminds us that this cup is the symbol of the blood of our
Jesus, poured out for the forgiveness of our sins. “Come and drink,” he says. Holding his left wrist with
his right hand to steady it, he reaches out and takes a drink himself.
Just two brief moments. The sun faintly gleaming through a thin spot in an overcast sky. A shadowy
glimpse of Jesus in our midst. For today, it’ll have to be enough.
PLEASE HELP US SAVE MONEY BY … adding your name to the email list.
Send an email to info@sanctuarytoronto.ca stating that you would like to
receive our newsletter and any announcements by email. Thanks!
Page 4
Faces of Our Community
– Zelia D. –
Most of our Sanctuary community will likely be shocked to find out that the young woman in the picture here is named ‘Zelia’. Everyone around here knows her as simply ‘Z’ (American pronunciation…
sorry) or else as “The Clothing Room Lady”. Having grown up in Toronto, Z graduated in January
from a Personal Service Worker program and has found some work (but is looking for more…if you’re
hiring!). Before this, she had worked as a pharmacist’s assistant and before that, had done background
checking and recruiting for an HR company. But the real prize for Z, since she began hanging out at
Sanctuary a few years back, has been meeting her partner of nearly two years, Ryan.
A year or so ago, Z began to take on the never-ending challenge of keeping our clothing room as tidy as
she can and well-stocked with the newest offerings. With a huge number of people rummaging through
that space digging for fashion gold, this is no small challenge and lesser people would have thrown in
the towel long ago. But we are so grateful for Z’s persistence, her energy, her great attitude, her cheerful
smile and the wonderful gift that she and Ryan are to our Sanctuary family.
Zelia D.
– Lydell Wiebe –
Lydell is relatively new to our Sanctuary family as he approaches his one year anniversary as one of the
gang. Originally from Saskatoon, he moved to Toronto in 2001 and is currently working on his Ph.D. in
Civil Engineering, studying how to design buildings to withstand earthquakes. (We’re not sure this has
an immediate application to his role at Sanctuary but we’re working on making a connection.) Reflecting on how he wound up here, here’s what Lydell has to say:
“In 2006-2007, I did a one-year Master’s program at an international school in Italy. As I got to know
students from all over the globe, world issues became personal. Things that had been just another item
on the news now made me concerned about how my friends and their loved ones would be affected.
I realized that if my friends needed something from me, I would do it, not out of a sense of obligation, but because I knew them and cared about them. When I moved to downtown Toronto and was
looking for a church, I felt that I needed to put myself in a position where the same would be true of
how I view urban issues. I sensed that God was calling me to a place where the homeless, the needy,
the disenfranchised of my own society wouldn’t be statistics, but friends. Sanctuary seemed to be where
God was leading me.”
Lydell Wiebe
STREET LEVEL Conference - MARCH 2009 Whether you are experienced in work among the street-involved, or simply
want to learn how you or your church can be involved, mark your calendar,
register early and plan to join with us in the nation’s capital as we explore
together what it means to create and leave a legacy of justice.
Contact Sanctuary for more information at 416-922-0628 ext. 211.
www.streetlevel.ca
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Page 5
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