News & Events

Veronica’s Story

For Veronica Osborn, service is a way of life. After a rewarding 37-year career with BC’s provincial government and leadership of a long-term care hospital foundation, she chose to continue to serve the community through volunteer work. “I’ve always been very intentional about the causes and organizations I support,” says Veronica. Supporting since 2014, Veronica […]

Dennis’s Story

Dennis is a veteran of the Canadian military and served in Afghanistan in the 1980s. Having worked his way into a position of leadership in the military, he remembers the pain of making decisions to send his men into situations they often did not return from. Ultimately, he left service after being shot in the […]

Ryan’s Story

Even before he was old enough to understand what addiction really was, Ryan felt its effects. “I had a fairly normal childhood,” he says. “But I have a father who’s an alcoholic. So I grew up with alcohol being a strong presence in the household.” Growing up in East Vancouver with a big immigrant family […]

Lloyd’s Story

A few months ago, the Our Place Community Centre was treated to a meal where the usual fare of oatmeal was upgraded to nutritious and delicious scrambled eggs, fruit, sausages, and croissants. This special meal was thanks to the sponsorship of a local man, and someone who knew all too well the importance of the […]

Clean Teams

One of the first suggestions that Jim has for the Clean Team at My Place is to rename it the Care Team. “Because we care about our community,” he adds. “That’s why we go out and pick up trash, glass, discarded needles, cigarette butts, anything that shouldn’t be on the ground.” When My Place, a […]

Travis’s Story

When Travis was at his lowest point — dope sick and living on Pandora — he used to pray “Please don’t let me wake up.” Death was preferable to continuing to live on the streets. “It was the most horrible time in my life,” he says. Travis’s journey to this point began in childhood. Living […]

Dan’s Story

Dan was your average teenager. His parents divorced when he was around 5, he played high school football, loved music and played in a band. And like a lot of teenagers, he also smoked pot. No big deal for some, but for Dan it was the beginning of a life-long addiction. “Everything snowballed from there,” […]

Devon’s Story

It only takes one hour a week to give Devon a reason to keep on fighting. It’s during those precious 60 minutes that she gets to see her 2½-year-old daughter. “She’s my everything,” says Devon, her eyes alight with love. “She’s so full of life and so intelligent. She’s a non-stop chatterbox and absolutely loves […]

One Hour of Hope

It only takes one hour a week to give Devon a reason to keep on fighting. It’s during those precious 60 minutes that she gets to see her 2½-year-old daughter. “She’s my everything,” says Devon, her eyes alight with love. “She’s so full of life and so intelligent. She’s a non-stop chatterbox and absolutely loves […]