Siloam Mission - Plenty of "car wrecks"

Subscribe Read Online Email Bulletin Address Changes

Homelessness Scriptures Resources sj101 WPG Sun Columns Ottawa Manifesto Under the Radar

Upcoming Events News & Info Photo Gallery

Current Needs Donate Online Ways to Give Tin Can Campaign Third-Party Events Planned Giving Financial Report Major Sponsors

General Info Volunteer Needs Individual Application Group Opportunities Group Application Volunteer FAQs

Overview Meals & Clothing Employment-Training Expressive Arts Emergency Shelter Health Care Centre Other Services

General Info History Staff & Board Careers Beliefs & Values Contact Annual Report

A connecting point between the compassionate and Winnipeg’s less fortunate, Siloam Mission is a Christian humanitarian agency offering programs and services at no charge to those experiencing homelessness.

Siloam Mission alleviates the hardships of the poor and homeless, assists in transitioning them into self-sufficient and generous lifestyles and advocates nationwide on their behalf.

The Mission

When life feels like quicksand
They offer a helping hand.

A place staffed by people, just and fair,
It’s not just a paycheque, they really care.

They got bunks and showers,
And really good meals,
Follow the rules,
And it’s a great deal.

It’s kinda a sacred space
So please don’t abuse this place.

And when all you do is roam,
And you think your all alone

Don’t get lost in the dark,
Open your heart, let the light make it’s mark.

When God’s on your side
The devil can’t take you anymore on his hellride.

Plenty of "car wrecks"

By John Mohan

What changes us from a nation of angry, defeated, despairing people to rabid, cheering optimists? Another federal election? Stephen Harper singing, "I get by with a little help from my friends..."? No, it's the start of a new National Hockey League season -- and one just started.

The team rosters have changed and some coaches have been fired from last season which will hopefully help our favourite team improve. (Perhaps with the exception of the Toronto Maple Leafs who are so bad that books have been written about the subject and Facebook support groups launched. A friend from Toronto once tried to encourage me that someday Winnipeg might get an NHL team again. I shot back, "Maybe Toronto will too..." But I digress. )

Generally though, the hopes of teams and fans are high at this time of year. This will be a better year than last. This is the year we're going to make it to the playoffs or even win the Stanley Cup. We always start the year with hope no matter how badly our team did last season. The only disqualifier to hope is if the team has all the same players and coaches after a bad season.

I'm a perennial Calgary Flames fan and have been for a couple of decades since I lived there and saw Theo Fleury trying out for the team as an eighth-round draft pick. Everybody loved his effort and showmanship. Everybody wanted him to succeed but didn't think he would due to his small size.

Turns out he did make it and made it big in the NHL, but was also controversial on and off the ice as he waged a public battle with substance abuse.

A couple of weeks ago after a failed tryout bid with the Flames, he announced his retirement from professional hockey at age 41. Maybe we've seen the last of him and maybe we haven't.

Fleury's off-ice problems were like watching a car wreck in progress with alcoholism, bar brawls, marital breakups and league banishments. You couldn't stand to watch and you couldn't turn your head away. He fell and he got back up. He fell again and he got back up again. By all accounts, Fleury was a driven kid and used hockey as an escape from a troubled family background and possible abuse by a hockey coach. In escaping or suppressing his past, people discovered how great a hockey player he was. That gave him opportunity and support to become rich and idolized, but never relieved his personal pain. The rest is recorded history and a promised tell-all book is about to be released.

Sunday afternoon while driving downtown, I saw a frail man aimlessly wandering through an empty parking lot alone.

He has a mental illness and never got to play hockey. I wonder how we support and cheer for him? What's our hope for his outcome?

-- John Mohan is the CEO of Siloam Mission.

Last Updated: 7th October 2009, 1:41am

SUN Article
link: http://www.winnipegsun.com/comment/2009/10/07/11326731-sun.html