The Homeless Blog - by Andy

Newsletter

StreetLife - Project417 - June 2009 Vol 6 Issue 8


Dear Friends,

Thanks for reading the online version of the Project417 newsletter. This will give you the latest updates on Project417's ongoing mission to the homeless. We'd like you to be able to read more, but frankly, without continuing financial support from great people just like you, Project417 is unable to provide additional web content for the newsletter at this time.

Project417  continues to provide essential services -

Sandwich Runs to the Homeless

- more than fifty thousand meals delivered to date
- on average, we deliver a nutritious bag lunch to around 500 homeless street people every month
- more than two thousand church and school volunteers visit Project417 every year to help
- your donations provide for expenses to transport volunteers visiting the homeless, salaries for staff to provide volunteer safety and additional food, water, sleeping bags, and clothing during severe weather alerts

Project417 Urban Adventures

Short Term Missions - an urban, inner city experience - Project 417 has been hosting urban missions teams to the inner city in Toronto since the 1980's but is now growing this ministry through Project417 Urban Adventures (UA). Urban Adventures will provide teams with the opportunity to come to Toronto and participate in a variety of urban outreach experiences. The goals of this program are to effectively serve the at-risk, low income communities we reach out to, to impact the worldviews and opinions of students toward a more Christ-like view of the urban reality. UA provides missions opportunities to Youth (and other group) leaders that will be easy to plan and allow them to experience the trip alongside youth - providing discipleship along the way. UA is a partnership with Bloor Lansdowne Christian Fellowship.

Bloor Lansdowne Community Dinner

- A Partnership program with the Bloor Lansdowne Christian Fellowship, a church that has been located here in Toronto since the 1930's
- runs every Wednesday evening from 6PM to 8PM
- provides a free, home-cooked meal for anyone in the community. So far we are serving about sixty to one hundred guests including street homeless, residents of neighboring shelters and transitional women's housing, needy families and other local church neighbors
- Live musical entertainment every week
- volunteers are needed, and donations to purchase the fresh food every week, clothing bank donations are also accepted

The STEP Program Sex Trade Exit Program

STEP strives to help sexually exploited people in Toronto, Canada. The core of our work is to express the gospel in both word and deed and to engage in discipleship with our community. We do our best to address the suffering of those who are currently involved in prostitution and provide opportunities for change for those interested in exiting the sex trade. Project417 welcomes the addition of Tara McPherson, our newest faith-based missionary, to run the STEP program. For the past few months, in partnership with BLCF, STEP has run a late evening drop-in for women on Bloor Street every Thursday night from 9:30pm to 3:00am called Serenity Cafe.

Out of the Cold Program for Street Youth (November - April)

- established in the fall of 1996, by Rev. Joe Elkerton, in conjunction with Knox Presbyterian Church in Toronto, now known as Knox Youth Dinner & Foodbank
- this emergency shelter program was the first Out of the Cold program specially for street youth from 16 to 25 years of age
- currently the program has expanded to provide meals, a food bank, clothing depot, service referrals, and counselling; overnight sleeping accomodation can no longer be provided
- serves more than one hundred youth every week
- several of Project417's staff and volunteers are on site at Knox every week to provide mentoring to street youth, and assist Knox coordinate volunteers

Counselling Services

- Under the direction of Rev. Joe Elkerton, Project417 provides counselling services to the homeless
- clients include homeless men, women and youth, street involved youth and at risk families living in poverty
- counselling includes healthy lifestyles reinforcement, addiction counselling, anger management, and family counselling
- in addition Project417 staff have been trained and certified in Critical Incident Stress Management to be involved in emergency response services and disaster relief
- CISM components include: Group and Individual Crisis Interventions; Trauma & Addictions; Pastoral Crisis Intervention

Street Outreach to the Homeless

- the staff and missionaries at Project417 conduct regular outreach to the homeless street population and at-risk inner city residents
- the Project417 model is not a traditional shelter based approach, rather it takes place out on the street where the homeless live
- the outreach comprises both individual one on one interaction and group settings
- in conjunction with the sandwich run ministry, it is the most relational of Project417's programs
- outreach includes: social program referrals; crisis intervention; personal friendship evangelism; discipleship; fellowship; faith community referrals

Short Term Missions
Hurricane Disaster Recovery - Gulf Coast - Hurricane Katrina - Hurricane Ike

- In September, 2005, the first short term mission teams from Project417, visited New Orleans for one, two and three week terms
- fifty volunteers in seven teams have gone on Project417 short term missions to New Orleans, Louisiana and Galveston, Texas
- Andy and a team of fifteen volunteers from Georgia State University visited San Leon, Galveston County, Texas to help with Hurricane Ike relief in the renovation of a storm damaged home belonging to a Vietnamese - American family
- there is currently no funding available for the next short term mission, but plans are to visit the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans and Texas in 2009 and team with Habitat for Humanity and the Fuller Housing Institute
- On TV -  "The Old Man and the Storm, a PBS FrontLine documentary by June Cross describing the rebuilding efforts of Mr. Herbert Gettridge and his family in the Lower Ninth Ward, aided by volunteers (including Project417); the documentary aired Jan. 2009 and can be watched online at PBS

Missions School - TBA start date Jan. 2010 - 417@1307 includes theological studies, spiritual growth, practicums, cross cultural training and inner city outreach

Thanks for reading this far. We hope you have a better understanding of the essential services Project417 provides to the homeless, both here in Toronto and where disaster strikes elsewhere. We need to continue. We need your support. Over 500 street homeless and 6,000 shelter housed men and women benefit from Project417's core ministries. Thousands in New Orleans and Texas are still waiting for their homes to be rebuilt.

A donation of $10 - $20 will help pay for our team leaders' expenses to support the volunteers for one evening's sandwich run. A donation of $50 will buy a Tim Horton's coupon book and give a panhandler a meal instead of small change in his cup. $500 =  sandwich run van for one month. $1000 would pay for the travel of one short term mission team to New Orleans or fund two weeks of inner city street outreach. Partner with us today.  Join with us to celebrate the love of Christ with those forgotten by society.



Sincerely,

Rev. Joe Elkerton
Executive Director
Ekklesia Inner City Ministries
Project417
1307 Bloor Street West
Toronto ON M6H1P1
Canada

Many of you know I have been visiting New Orleans for Hurricane Katrina disaster relief projects since early in 2006, about 7 months after the storm hit. I went for two weeks of volunteer work and when I saw the devastated condition of the city and its people, I stayed for six months organizing volunteers to help with the re-building. One man and his family we helped was Mr. Herbert R. Gettridge. He is a true hero of Katrina.

Now his story, over a period of two years is finally told, on PBS FrontLine, a hard-hitting and insightful documentary by acclaimed producer June Cross. The Old Man and the Storm airs Jan 6th 2009 at 9pm (check local listings). It's also available for viewing online at PBS - pbs.org

I visited Mr. Gettridge and his wife two weeks ago in their rebuilt and renovated home in the Lower Ninth Ward of Orleans Parish, New Orleans, on the way back from our latest recovery trip to help Hurricane Ike victims in Texas. It was a joy to see him again and be revived by his boundless optimism and inner reserves of strength. We made plans to establish a fund and rebuild more homes in the Lower Ninth Ward on property owned by Mr. Gettridge and the family, where the city has torn the hurricane damaged houses down. Check back for more updates and visit the Mission blog at http://missionlog.wordpress.com

Here's the PBS trailer:

 

New Orleans Hurricane Katrina Disaster Recovery - beginning in September, 2005, the first short term mission teams from Project417, visited New Orleans for one, two and three week terms - twenty-two volunteers in six teams have gone on Project417 short term missions to New Orleans  (plus dozens of other volunteers from the U.S.) - there is currently no funding available for the next short term mission, but plans are to visit the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans in August/September 2008 and team with Habitat for Humanity or the Fuller Housing Institute - be sure to watch "The Old Man and the Storm", a PBS FrontLine documentary produced by June Cross describing the rebuilding efforts of Mr. Herbert Gettridge and his family in the Lower 9th Ward, aided by volunteers (including Project417); the documentary airs Jan 6th, 2009 at 9PM.  Plans had been for me to visit New Orleans for one week to coincide with memorial ceremonies for the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina August 29th. Two things prevented this from happening. There is still a lack of funding and donations to support the mission - and the arrivals of new hurricanes. Hurricane Gustav, Hanna and now Ike and Josephine approach the Gulf area. Gustav was thought to have been a category 4 or 5 storm, and New Orleans and much of Louisiana and Mississippi were under mandatory evacuation orders. So the visit was postponed. Thank God, Hurricane Gustav was downgraded to category 2 before landfall and hit the coast about 100 miles southwest of New Orleans sparing the city any major damage. Comittments have been received for additional donations ($700 dollars to date) and as soon as they arrive, I will be leaving to visit our friends, The main purpose of the New Orleans trip is to arrange work sites for a team mission trip in November. Check back for more updates.

UPDATE: JANUARY 2009 - Watch the PBS documentary on PBS FrontLine - the Old Man and the Storm - produced by June Cross and detailing the struggles of the Gettridge family for two years following Hurricane Katrina.



Andy of Project417 has just returned from two disaster recovery trips to help the victims of Hurricane Ike in Texas - more are planned for Jan to March of 2009 - visit the Mission Log blog at http://missionlog.wordpress.com/  for more info...

 

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