On February 26, 2017, the parish of St. John’s Shaughnessy passed a motion at its annual Vestry meeting to participate with St. Anselm’s, St. Helen’s and St. Philip’s in their Neighbourhood Ministry (NM) Outreach Program.
A warm welcome to the parish of St. John’s Shaughnessy. Their NM coordinators Ken Pepin & Lynwen Clark, along with other volunteers, have already organized packets for Street Outreach teams. The congregation also participated in a post-Christmas collection of clothing & toiletries.
Initiated in 2008 under the leadership of Deacon Pitman, the NM is now in its 10th year of transforming lives.
At its core, the NM continues its weekly street walks by volunteers who deliver packets of food & clothing to homeless individuals. An estimated 600 packets were delivered in 2016.
In many cases, the Street Outreach teams find individuals who need help completing government paperwork for ID, income & disability assistance and housing.
Of note was the Christmas season street walk during which four carloads of volunteers canvassed from Granville to Blanca, Kerrisdale to the beaches, spreading cheer and distributing new gloves, toques, food and other necessities.
In late 2016, two new services were launched: The Mobile Care Unit (MCU) and the Angels Program.
In partnership with the UBC schools of Medicine and Social Work, the MCU is a ‘travelling’ team that visits Kits Showers (Saturdays), St. Mary’s, Kerrisdale (Tuesdays), and St. Augustine’s, Marpole (Thursdays) each month. The MCU Unit’s team of doctors, social work students and NM volunteers provide basic medical care and social services to homeless and needy people who may face barriers to such care and support.
NM ‘angels’ are paired with clients who require extra support in accessing services for which they are eligible.
For more information about the MCU Unit or the Neighbourhood Ministry, contact Pitman Potter at pbpotter@live.ca or Vicki Potter at vbpotter@hotmail.com.