In April we furnished a home for 4 men, run by a project that is supported by a group of philanthropic people from a local church.  They have established 4 Community of Care Homes in the years we’ve been working with them.  The residents are in second stage recovery from an addiction (mostly alcohol, but some drugs). The group provides life skills training and some counseling.   We have worked with a contact who has made generous financial donations to Shelter to Home.

Also in  April we had the opportunity to share our story with five 12 and 13 year old boys from a West Vancouver Elementary School. Their school runs an International Baccalaureate Program, in which grade 7 students are required to do a project on a social issue.  These 5 boys chose “the effects of poverty and homelessness”.  They wanted to know about agencies who help people and how they assist people in poverty.  They were concerned about poor children’s access to sports.  They had questions about food and housing insecurity.  We spent over an hour with them at the storage room.  They were engaged the whole time.  We were impressed that five young kids could be interested in helping poor people. They talked about doing a drive to collect things for poor children.  These boys also volunteered at Highland’s Saturday Lunch.  The teacher-Librarian at their school is a Highlands United Church member.  She made the connection for the boys and us to meet.  Over the course of the hour,  we shared four client stories with them. They received them very thoughtfully.   We told them that their visit was encouraging to us, to know there are young people who care. 

We are well into our 17th year of service.  We are grateful to everyone at Highlands and in the local community who supports with their time and financial support.