Henry was on the street when we first met him. Our outreach workers, who roam the streets of Toronto’s inner city every day, approached him in his encampment under a bridge. They invited him to our drop-in centre for lunch and offered him assistance in finding housing. After a month of consistent offers of help, he finally trusted them enough to get in the van and visit The Gateway for a meal.

When he got here Henry felt safe and welcomed. He enjoyed the lunch and decided to book a bed in our shelter. Over the next few months, Henry opened up and we entered into a deeper relationship with him. Not only did we help him with his needs, we also discovered that he was a gifted artist. After finding him an apartment, we connected Henry to a local arts drop-in centre. He is now designing T-shirts and selling a dozen or more each week.

We were able to walk with Henry, who was isolated and alone when we met him, and help him experience a taste of what true community can be. He’s now living and participating in a local community where both his needs and gifts are being explored. He’s becoming whole again.

The Gateway is a 108-bed shelter for men who find themselves homeless. From the first moment a man walks into our building, we enter into relationship with him. We ask him his name and how he is doing. We accept his response in whatever form it comes to us. We offer him a kind, inviting, welcoming environment that doesn’t consist of bars or glass that separates our staff from the rest of our community. We invite him to join us at our drop-in centre for a meal. We encourage our staff to line up for food with our friends from the street, sit at the same tables, eat the same meal, wear similar clothing and talk about the same TV shows and baseball teams as they do.

Over time we develop a relationship, asking the men about their needs, but much more about their gifts, dreams and desires. We’ve learned the hard way that if all we ever ask someone is “What do you need?” that person will think of themselves as needy. This often creates an attitude of entitlement and codependence, which, in my opinion, is a deep form of oppression and injustice.

When we ask, “What can you give?” the person begins to remember they have value and have capacity to contribute to society. In the context of our little community, which was once a group of isolated individuals, this translates to the blessing of seeing beauty all around us as people begin the process of becoming whole. As a staff, we also experience healing and wholeness in our own lives as we journey together.

Article by Dion Oxford, Director, The Gateway, Toronto

Audio Interview
Dion Oxford is the director of The Gateway, a Salvaton Army homeless men’s shelter on Toronto’s Jarvis Street. At The Gateway, after a week of residence, clients are asked what they can contribute to ‘the community’, as well as receiving help. Dion Oxford talks about this approach in this report.

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