09/20/2024
🌟 **Message from the Shelter** 🌟
The shelter team, under the direction of our General Manager, Ms. Alexandra Ambroise, along with our board members Jean-Charles Pietacho, Tina Vassiliou, Karine Millaire, and Nadia Robertson, wishes to share with you a very touching message we received from a shelter user.
This message resonates deeply with us and reminds us why we are here. Every day, we have the chance to make a difference in the lives of those who walk through our doors. Their resilience and gratitude inspire us to pursue our mission with passion and dedication.
Thank you for supporting us in this beautiful journey. Together, we continue to bring hope and transform lives. 💖
With all our gratitude, enjoy the reading:
Since August 5, 2023, I have been living on the street. With the cost of housing so high, I haven't had the chance to find suitable accommodation for my income and had to spend a month in a tent that I bought with the little money I had left.
With classes to attend at school and a minimum wage job at a convenience store, I had to keep going without complaining. Rain and storms seemed to follow me wherever I went, but it was fun at first anyway.
Often, I couldn't find a place to sleep and had to stay awake to avoid being robbed. With many absences and tardiness at work, I eventually lost my job.
With no income and no housing, I had to visit a nearby police station at the Berri UQAM metro to get help. At first, they sent me to *** and then to La **********. Neither place was ideal for getting me back on track, as I received no help to improve my situation at those locations.
A last visit to the same station allowed me to discover Mitshuap for the first time. Finally, a place with potential, a place where I and my belongings are safe when I sleep. I received help for the first time since being on the street at Mitshuap.
Here, I was given the contact information for Resilience, where I was able to work for several months before starting to work for Mitshuap.
At first, I just wanted to help and contribute to the cause with my time to thank the people who helped me every day, but the supervisors at Mitshuap, Jari and Jason, saw potential in me and offered me the chance to temporarily join the best team I have had the opportunity to work with in a long time.
My time here at Mitshuap has allowed me to wait at the starting line for my future career in the Canadian Armed Forces. I was able to pay old bills and take a little more control of my situation with the help I received at Mitshuap.
I even had the chance to be there for my mother when she was released from the hospital, thanks to Alexandra Ambroise and the team who organized a fundraiser so I could eat and have all the other necessities during my journey. I would like to thank Alexandra Ambroise for organizing the fundraiser that allowed me to help my mother and for accepting me into the Mitshuap family.
I would also like to take the time to thank the entire kitchen team and the evening team, as well as supervisors Jason and Jari.
I never thought that a group of people who had endured so much suffering, who had been neglected and set aside by society, would help me. But they welcomed me with open arms anyway. It’s the team that makes this place incredible compared to other shelters here in Montreal.
I hope that other people with strong plans and ambitions like mine will also be able to take the same path that I had the chance to take.
I wish many good things to the team and to Mitshuap; many people need help on the streets, and it will take a larger building, some showers, a bigger team, and the budget that comes with it. Thank you, Mitshuap!
Written by: A User of the shelter
