Calgary ALSO D3 - Inn From The Cold

 "Because with every action, comment, conversation, we have the choice to invite Heaven or Hell to Earth."  This was posted inside the StreetLight Mobile Drop-in Centre we visited this morning.

SMOOTHIES FOR BREAKFAST! Kirsten is the smoothie master!

     We missed the night on the streets, but the agency must have wanted us to learn a thing or two anyway, so they opted to give us a tour and speak to us about the general overview of their facility and mobile drop-in center. They run a program call StreetLight, which is a double-deck bus that ends up on the streets twice a week and gives youth, aged 12-24, a chance to hang out, ingest a warm meal, and play video games. After we received a guided tour of the bus, we were taken inside their building to be educated on youth who are on the streets. A large portion of the youth they take in are first generation immigrants who simply struggled to make ends meet.

Youth For Christ mobile drop in centre.

The afore-mentioned sign.

Yes, that's right - ages TWELVE to 24! This mobile drop in centre hits the streets at least twice a week to offer a safe place to hang out all night.

We spent the afternoon at Blackfoot Crossing, a first-nations reserve, just over an hour outside of Calgary. After a bison burger, we went on a guided tour throughout the museum. Basically every essential fact of first-nations culture was covered in this massive building.

Outside the Blackfoot Crossing Interpretive Centre in the Siksika Nation just outside of Calgary.

Inside the Blackfoot Crossing. What a beautiful centre!

     When we returned to our current residence, we were immediately put to work, preparing supper for a group called Inn From The Cold. This group sets up in the church frequently and offers to take in fifteen people to serve supper, give them a place to sleep, and then, bright and early, provide breakfast for the guests.
     Once again, as a collective group, we spread ourselves out among the tables and made a second attempt to associate with individuals who are experiencing homelessness. This time, our guests were far more willing to sit with us strangers. Two ladies actually remained at their table from supper, completely engaged in conversation with students, until the time they went to bed.

Preparing supper for Inn From The Cold

     Something I found quite peculiar in itself, and was completely unexpected to me was the amount that our guests ate. I had expected all of them to be starving, and in desperate need of a meal, but some of them hardly ate at all, and only one man went for second helpings. I'm not certain if they just weren't hungry at all, or they may have not been wanting to accept the fact that they needed a meal badly. I'm not making the assumption that they are desperate, but perhaps they have a certain level of pride behind their decisions.
     I was also surprised by the number of people who had iPods and cell phones. I guess it just goes to show that lack of affordable housing is for more apparent than lack of employment. As our first guest speaker said, "What would you need to survive on the streets?"  

Setting up the beds for Inn From The Cold.

We have no pictures of the clients who stayed for night to respect their privacy. It made a very large impact on us interacting with the families who need the service.

     According to several sources we heard from today, there has been a large influx of children and families in need of a place to spend the night. This has come as a surprise to many people as they are used to having a male majority in need of a temporary home, and also because there has been an increase in family housing establishments. This evening we had at least two families and four children, and even an expecting mother.
     Tomorrow, we will be up at 5:30 serving breakfast for our guests, then we will go to one of the largest shelters in the city; The Mustard Seed.

Travis Hebert

Calgary, Alberta

May 2, 2012