Greetings to Partners and Supporters in our Community:
The social justice ministry at James Bay United Church began as a support for the Beacon Hill Park tent community that emerged in 2020, early in the pandemic. During that time, the social justice team assisted a senior couple and a single individual who had been living in the park with securing and sustaining market housing. The team continues to assist other individuals who had been living in the park, helping them to maintain housing that they were able to secure on their own, and providing social support and problem-solving skills when challenges emerge.
Shortly after tenting ended in Beacon Hill, JBUC member Joanne Keelan and other volunteers began a program of offering a hot breakfast once a week to our unhoused neighbours living in Irving Park, a few steps from the church. This modest effort grew into the Community Lunch that happens in the JBUC Lower Hall every Thursday afternoon, bringing together our housed and unhoused neighbours to enjoy a lovely meal prepared by a professional chef, as well as music and lively conversation. Everyone is welcome. If you're interested in volunteering, please contact Joanne.
JBUC continues to seek opportunities for generative community dialogue, from conversations hosted at the conclusion of Thursday lunches, to workshops on trauma-informed care, to hosting community groups, to engaging in the work of reconciliation. Watch this space for upcoming events.
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