Finding a Niche...

Greetings my friends:

When I arrived in this area on July 7, 2011; I was a stranger to most of the folks I would eventually be working with in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver BC (DTES). There are many civic organizations, government programs, a number of churches and faith based shelters all trying to create communities to help the marginalized living in the DTES recover from their dislocation.

As much as I enjoy meeting with and encouraging individual residents in the DTES, I feel my calling is primarily in educating, training, and encouraging staff and volunteers in the area about addiction and recovery. I teach a faith based view integrated with the science of addiction. I have become part of three groups here: First United Church, the Dugout, and The New Way Community. My passion also includes offering workshops to local churches outside the DTES as I feel the church is the ideal place to treat addiction in concert with self help groups (Workshops).

Last month we held a two part workshop at the Dugout which was well received and we will hold another there in the future. Next month beginning on May 18 I will be doing a two hour training every other week including case studies with the staff that has the most direct contact with the residents at First United Church.

At New Way Community we are discussing attracting theological and other students from local seminaries and universities to the DTES for a 1x1 guided tour. This would give me a choice to do some individual mentoring leading to group training on addiction and recovery for the most marginalized. Only 13% of pastors have had any formal education or training about addiction.

I am humbled about being a keynote speaker at the annual conference of the Oregon Coalition for Housing and Homelessness (OCCH) to be held in Hood River on May 2-4. At the welcoming luncheon my focus will be Homelessness and Addiction: Challenging the Status Quo. The next day will be a 90 minute seminar Home for the Homeless and then on Friday a 3 hour workshop on Addiction and Recovery that many of you have attended. What an opportunity to present faith based strategies and the reality that I am supported in this outreach by so many of you readers.

On May 6th I will be in Roseburg for an interest group meeting at Redeemer's Fellowship after the third service (around 1:15 PM). I hope to see most of you there to catch up on our fellowship and the current direction of this journey we share.

Your thoughts, prayers, and financial support make this "niche" possible.
Ross