Ryan's Hope

09/26/2026

Some Saturday mornings begin quietly — a slow start, a warm drink, a moment to breathe before the day unfolds. Today’s song for the 50 Million Dollar Barrie Challenge is Johnny Reid’s “Today I’m Gonna Try to Change the World,” a reminder that change often begins with intention — one choice, one idea, one act of imagining something better.

The challenge is simple: imagine what Barrie could look like if we invested $50 million in people. Share your imagining on your socials — a reel, a letter, a poem, artwork, spoken word, whatever speaks to you — and tag Ryan’s Hope so we can gather the visions our community creates. A better Barrie is possible!

This is Johnny Reid newest hit, enjoy all, great song, very heart ...

09/23/2026

SOCKTOBER is coming, SOCKTOBER is coming!

To prepare for the upcoming winter months we are hosting our annual SOCKTOBER sock drive for the month of October.

We are looking for local businesses that would be willing to participate by placing a basket in their place of business inviting customers to drop off socks, hats, gloves, mittens underwear, long underwear, hand warmers.

If your business is interested in participating please email Christine ar [email protected] or pm us.

With gratitude

09/22/2026

09/20/2026

Homelessness is not a crime, it's is a policy failure.

09/19/2026

Some Saturday mornings are slow and gentle. Some are rushed and hectic. But almost all of us get at least one small moment — a breath, a pause, a sip of coffee — where imagination can slip in.

And that’s the perfect moment to ask:
What kind of Barrie could we build together if we had $50 million to invest in community?

That’s the heart of the 50 Million Dollar Barrie Challenge — an open invitation to imagine a better Barrie shaped by creativity, hope, and community vision.

Today’s song is Imagine by John Lennon. It is a reminder that every better world begins as a picture in someone’s mind.

Let this be your moment to start dreaming. What rises for you when you think about a better Barrie?

Share your imagining in any creative form — reel, letter, poem, artwork, spoken word — and share it to your socials and tag Ryan’s Hope, or email it to [email protected].

Like and share this post so more people can imagine a better Barrie with us.
Let’s imagine the Barrie we deserve!

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

09/18/2026

Ryan’s Hope is launching the **50 Million Dollar Barrie Challenge**.

After my deputation at the Affordability Committee, one line stood out for people:
**“We could build a different Barrie with $50 million.”**

So we’re asking the community to imagine it.

If Barrie had $50 million to invest in people — in housing, food security, mental health, harm reduction, community spaces, and upstream solutions — what kind of city could we build?

Share your **imaginings** in any form:
• Reel
• Letter
• Essay
• Poem
• Song
• Artwork
• Spoken word

Post your vision on your socials and **tag Ryan’s Hope**, or email your imaginings to **[email protected]**.

**Like and share this post** so more people can imagine a better Barrie with us.

Let’s imagine the Barrie we deserve!

09/18/2026

I brought this deputation to the City’s Affordability Committee because affordability isn’t just about numbers on a spreadsheet — it’s about the real lives of people trying to survive in Barrie. Destroying the farmland that feeds us and handing out corporate subsidies while residents struggle is absolutely an affordability issue. Even when they tried to shut me down for “not staying on topic,” the truth is that these decisions directly shape our community’s ability to live, thrive, and belong. Ryan’s Hope will always speak up for dignity, equity, and community care. This is why we keep showing up.

09/16/2026

This!

09/12/2026

A reflection I wrote this morning and wanted to share with you all.

In The Shelter of Each Other

During COVID, one of the beautiful things that happened was that even in the isolation people were forced into, they still found ways to show up for each other.

When programs people relied on were forced to shut their doors, we showed up. Our Ryan’s Hope Breakfast‑To‑Go program was the first initiative of Ryan’s Hope, and it was the perfect way to honour Ryan — because Ryan showed up for people. He opened his door and his home to those society casts aside.

We started with a box of Tim Hortons coffee, some muffins, and fresh fruit outside the warming centre. As the program grew, we moved across the street to the Salvation Army parking lot and continued serving breakfast to our unhoused neighbours. Even in forced isolation the program, and the community, continued to grow.

When we put out the call, volunteers came — not for recognition, but because they wanted a way to help, a way to be in community during a time when connection felt scarce. And those who couldn’t be there physically found other ways to show up: baking muffins, leaving them on our doorstep, making sure breakfast was always there for the people who needed it.

COVID isolated us, but in some ways it also brought people together. The need for community has always been there — it’s a universal human need. It’s a reminder of my favourite Irish proverb:

It is in the shelter of each other that people live.

09/10/2026

Today, September 10, is World Su***de Prevention Day!

Every year, more than 720,000 lives are lost to su***de. Each one leaves behind a circle of grief that ripples through families, friends, and communities.

Fourteen years ago, I broke my silence and spoke publicly for the first time about my own suicidal depression. I did it after two of my daughters lost friends to su***de in the same week. I promised their friends’ deaths would not be in vain and that I would honour them by speaking truth.

That act of breaking silence changed everything. It was terrifying, but it was also freeing. People reached out to say they felt less alone. Others found the courage to share their own stories. That is how we change the narrative, by telling the truth even when it hurts.

This year’s theme, Changing the Narrative — Start the Conversation, calls us to challenge stigma and shame. It calls us to name su***de, mental illness, and grief honestly, because silence kills.

Ryan’s Hope was born from that truth. Ryan lived with bipolar disorder and depression. He fought bravely for eight years, and once he found a drug that helped him manage those thoughts, the su***de attempts stopped. His death was not by su***de. His death was the result of a system that failed him.

Today we light a candle for those we’ve lost to su***de — Peter, Thomas, Derrick, Christopher — and for those still fighting to stay.

We light it for Ryan, whose courage and advocacy continue to guide everything I do.

And we light it for those who are afraid to reach out.

If you are struggling, please hold on. You are not alone.
Reach out. Your life matters. Your story matters.

***dePreventionDay