Busy week for Strathmore Overnight Shelter
By Miriam Ostermann, Associate Editor
Miriam Ostermann Photo
The official opposition leader visited Strathmore on Monday together with Chestermere-Rocky View MLA and deputy leader Leela Aheer, who also participated in the fundraiser last weekend.
While the event brought in over $6,500, which will be allocated to the operational budget, Kenney spoke about the necessity for shelters in small communities, praised the board, volunteers and the town on its accomplishment, and emphasized the role of the church.
“What you are doing here is really a long history tradition of the church, and we should celebrate,” said Kenney. “I know these days as politicians we’re not supposed to talk about faith, but I will do so proudly. People of faith throughout our history have been at the forefront of caring for the widows and the orphans, and for the poor and elderly. The very first hospitals in Canada were set up by the church, the very first schools, the first social programs, the first soup kitchens, the first shelters – all that is deep in our history.”
Kenney also spoke of Alberta’s recession and its social consequences, such as greater funds and social service organizations readily available in bigger cities in comparison to smaller communities, and spoke about his time volunteering at an AIDS hospice during college, which was established by Mother Teresa and her nuns. On Monday, Kenney also thanked those who contributed financially to the project or volunteered.
SOS is volunteer-based and will be a 10-bed five-day stay shelter for men and women. The model focuses on utilizing programs and services already available within the community – a model Aheer expects to be successful and a model for other communities.
“If you think about any time that you’ve been at your lowest, any one of us, sometimes you have family, sometimes you have your church, sometimes you have your community, there’s a lot of structures there,” said Aheer.
“My husband is a recovering addict, so we understand the community that comes around you. But he also has really strong family around him. Take away any of those pieces – family structure, a warm home, food, any of those things – and you end up with a human being who’s not only broken by the physical needs but also emotionally.
“When you have community buy-in everybody rallies around those folks and it’s so different than something coming from the government or a handout; this is a hand up.”
Various board members were present at the Harvest Healing Centre Church including president John Hilton O’Brien, director of outreach Richard Rodgers, Strathmore town councillor Denise Peterson, board member Lawrence Carriere, and executive director and Pastor Elizabeth Karp, who also addressed the crowd. Mayor Pat Fule was also in attendance.
SOS is expected to open its doors within a month’s time.
Before bidding Strathmore adieu, the provincial politicians visited a few other businesses in Strathmore.
“There are always people who need a hand up, who have just fallen through the cracks,” said Kenney. “Some of them have suffered trauma as kids, or trauma later in life, or they just had a string of bad luck. That’s exactly why we need places like this.”