Santa Sacks Being Prepared

Only 3 days until Santa Under The Bridge gets underway and gift bags are being filled with our Diversity scarves, donations, and items purchased with funding provided in part by the Dartmouth Community Health Board. Each organization gets 12 gift packs except in situations where we may be providing gifts for families and then we toss a few children's gift bags into our Santa sacks.

The sacks are delivered to community organizations in HRM so that they may be used as Christmas gifts for the clients of those organizations. Shown here are intended donations to Alcare Place, (a longterm facility for men in recovery from addictions, located in Halifax), Shelter Nova Scotia (an organization that provides a home to otherwise homeless men and women) and Souls Harbor Rescue Mission (a safe place for homeless persons in Halifax to receive shelter, emergency services, food, etc). Freedom Foundation of NS (a longterm facility for men in the early stages of recovery from addictions located in North Dartmouth) has received some Santa Sacks from us. Still to come are donations to Margeurite Center ( a longterm facility for women in recovery from addictions and abuse), Direction 180 (a mobile methadone clinic and support center), Micmac Friendship Center (a center located in Halifax that offers structured social based programming for Aboriginal Peoples), Stepping Stones (a support centre for those working in the sex trade), Laing House (peer support centre for youth with mental illness), Brunswick Street Mission (a center for the homeless or the yet to be homeless that offers a hot breakfast and support through various types of programming in the hope to provide its clients with a better quality of life). There are a few other places we'd like to help. it all depends on how many sacks we get into Santa's sleigh.

So if you were wondering what Last House on the Block Society was, that's what we are and this is what we do.

Dartmouth Community Health Board Celebration

Last night, the Dartmouth Community Health Board hosted a celebration of contributions to the community by local groups and organizations. We were one of 14 projects that received financial support as part of the Community Development Fund. Of course, I gave a presentation outlining what our organization is and what we do. My speech went something like this.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, volunteers, and potential recipients of our project we would like to thank the board for their financial support.

Not a very nice night out there. Just imagine leaving here tonight with no place to go. Imagine being homeless. Your friends and family won't help. You just wander the streets trying to find somewhere warm and dry to spend the night. I don't need to imagine what that's like. I know what it's like.

In December of 1997 and January of 1998 I was homeless. Living under the bridge. Because of my alcoholism. No hat, no gloves, no scarf. It was cold. On January 29, 1998 I moved into Freedom Foundation, up on Brule Street. I lived there 62 days whereupon I successfully completed their program and was able to reintegrate back into society.

Two years later I returned to Freedom Foundation, not as a resident but as a staff member. I worked there on and off for twelve years. I was caseworker a few times. I left in May of 2012. A few months later during a conversation on Facebook, a friend of mine suggested I open my own house. In October 2012, Last House on the Block Society was created.

Our intention was to open a transition house like Freedom Foundation but in a different location. The project was too big for us and it failed. And just when the hour was darkest and it seemed there was no hope, we had an idea.

We changed our mission statement and became a community outreach. We thought we could help more people and it would use less money. My wife Nancy is also on the board. She likes to knit. She said she could knit scarves for the girls in Margeurite Center or the guys in Freedom Foundation. Someone else suggested it would be nice if we could give them as Christmas gifts. And so the scarf project was started.

(I reached into a bag I had brought and pulled out one of our diversity scarves. Draping it around me I began to explain how it's made from three colors of yarn, often discarded balls of wool because sometimes the addict feels discarded by society).

I want on to explain that by Christmas we had 40 scarves. We donated 12 to Margeurite and 12 to Direction 180 and some to the local recovery events. It went so well we decided to do it every year. Because of donations and fundraising and some media attention we could help about 150 people this year.

I explained that we also purchase socks and tuques and toiletry items to include in our gift bags and that the money given to us by the Community Health Board would certainly be put to good use.

And then, to show our gratitude for their contribution to our cause, I offered the diversity scarf I was wearing to Monique Mullins-Roberts, Coordinator of the Dartmouth Community Health Board. She wore it for the remainder of the event.

 

Early Delivery

This morning while we were running some errands, Nancy suggested we take the gift packs that were already packaged and drop them off at Freedom Foundation. Of course we had to wear our Santa suits. One of the residents was kind enough to snap the photo. Santa Under The Bridge technically starts on December 1 but there's a lot to do and we were feeling the spirit of giving today so off we went.

Gifts Aren't Always Under The Tree

More donations came in today, thanks to Mary's hard work. Toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, jewellry. Every little bit helps. I remember in my first year of recovery I only received one xmas gift. It meant the world to me. I couldn't afford to buy gifts for my family. One of my sponsors gave me some money to buy gifts. I told him I couldn't pay him back. He said, "I just want Bernie to get better and when you get better, buy somebody a big book or something. When you do that, you'll be paying me back."

If you're reading this and you're someone we helped or someone that somebody else helped and you're feeling grateful, do something nice for someone. That's how we make the world a better place, by helping those who are unable to help themselves. And gifts aren't always the ones under the tree. Hope is a precious gift. Kindness is another treasure. And forgiveness. The list goes on and on. Gratitude is not about having everything you want. It's about wanting everything you have.

Gifts Gifts Gifts

I packaged up one of our donation packages for Santa Under the Bridge. Each bag contains a tuque, 2 pairs of thermal socks, a diversity scarf, a toiletry item, a christmas card that can be personalized, a card describing what the diversity scarf symbolizes, and a few candy canes. Each organization will receive at least 12 gift bags. Those organizations receiving children's gift bags will have more but this is a basic package here. We are currently able to do 12 sets. We'd like to be able to do 4 more. There's still time for a miracle or two.

Only 10 Days Left.

With only ten days remaining until Santa Under The Bridge starts, we have

160 Diversity Scarves (1 per bag)
200 tuques (1 per bag)
400 pairs of thermal socks (2 pairs per bag)
200 Christmas cards
200 Diversity cards
Candy canes

we still require 40 scarves and also some toiletry items so if you happen to have 200 bars of soap or 200 toothbrushes or 200 tubes of toothpaste that you're willing to donate........even if you as an individual would like to donate 12 of one of those items, that will take care of one delivery.

We are also looking for large jars of peanut butter, jam, or syrup to donate to Brunswick Street Mission along with our regular gift packs. Apparently those items are in high demand there at any time of the year.

It should be noted that although our project begins December 1st, it continues right up until Christmas Eve, so you still have lots of time to knit those scarves.

Getting Everyone in the Xmas Spirit

This is a portion of an email we received from Shelter Nova Scotia:

Hi Bernie,

Thanks so much for the work you do in the community and for thinking of us.
Congratulations on being able to help more people.
We would love to have the 12 gift packs that you are able to donate.
If you are able to drop them off at our home office then we will get
them in the hands of our clients for Christmas morning.

Warmly,
Colleen

And this is a portion of the email we received from the Brunswick Street Mission:

Hello Bernie,

 

On behalf of the Brunswick Street Mission, I would like to thank you for the donation made through your Santa Under The Bridge project.

 

Each year our Christmas Program provides support to those individuals and families who would otherwise go without.  Along with a food hamper, we try to supply gifts for those within the family.  With support from your organization, Last House on the Block Society, we will be able to put a smile on many people’s faces on Christmas morning.

 

Thank you so much,

Lyrisa Boutilier

 

 

We have also received many thank-yous over the phone and in person from staff at Freedom Foundation, Alcare Place, Souls Harbor, Margeurite Center, and a few others.

 

 

So, everyone is getting in the xmas spirit. Even me, the former Grinch of Woodlawn

Socks For Shelter Nova Scotia

Becky Davison from Halifax Chamber of Commerce picking up a donation of socks from Last House On The Block Society. The socks will be donated to Shelter Nova Scotia. Shelter NS is on our list of organizations to donate to as part of our Santa Under The Bridge project. We're just getting a head start on things and in the process we can hopefully prevent a few cases of frostbite. Has anyone noticed it's snowing out already?

Santa Is On His Way

We picked up a few low-priced santa outfits today for when we make our deliveries. And we purchased the remainder of the gift bags so we now have 200 of those. Also, Deanna is busy writing merry christmases on our christmas cards.

Chistmas Shopping for Santa under The Bridge

Today, we (Bernie, Nancy, and Deanna) went to our local Giant Tiger and purchased 400 pairs of thermal socks (200 ladies and 200 mens) to use in our christmas gift packs. We also purchased 100 gift bags and 200 christmas cards. We received a donation of 200 tuques and speaking of donations, a fellow shopper was curious about why we were buying all those socks. When we told her why, she made a cash donation on the spot.

So, it's starting to come together. That's good because we start making deliveries in 14 days.

Introduction

This is the blog version of Under The Bridge, newsletter for Last House on the Block Society. The newsletter is printed monthly and distributed to individuals and community organizations in Halifax Regional Municipality. It is also available online at the Society's website.

http://lasthouseontheblocksociety.weebly.com/

Last House on the Block Society is a non-profit organization that offers community outreach information and services to persons in recovery from addictions. Our annual Santa Under the Bridge project provides hand-knitted diversity scarves and other items of winter clothing to 150-200 persons per year.

The purpose of this blog is to make available frequent updates on news and events within the society. The November newsletter just came out so there isn't anything to report aside from the creation of this blog.