It has been a slower summer for TOOLS this year, but there have been some great groups who have participated in the program. Rockway Mennonite Collegiate (from Kitchener) came with a fantastic group of students, as did Mount Salem EMC (Evangelical Mennonite Church) from Alymer. UMEI (United Mennonite Educational Institute), the Mennonite high school in Leamington came with their Faith in Action club in late June, and later this August there will be another group from Leamington- the EMMC (Evangelical Mennonite Mission Conference) youth group. It has been amazing to get to know some of these youth and students and watch them be transformed by their conversations with people experiencing poverty, and also by their volunteer work at several community agencies.
I have been blessed by those who have participated in the TOOLS program, and have enjoyed hearing their insights and perspectives on poverty and homelessness after seeing and experiencing some of the tougher neighbourhoods in Toronto. It is great to hear their enthusiasm to affect change in their own schools and towns when they go home. Although the TOOLS experience is brief, I believe that it makes participants more aware of their own power and privilege, as it tunes them into the disadvantages and obstacles many people are faced with on a daily basis, based on their socioeconomic status, race, gender, sexual orientation, health, level of education, access to healthcare, existence (or non-existence) of supportive friends and family, and the amount and quality of services and opportunities that have been available to them during their lifetime. When we realize the favourable situations we were born into, as well as the plethora of opportunities that we have had, it makes us realize how a different set of circumstances could have easily put us on the margins of society.
Poverty and injustice grip our world with a grasp tighter than one person could ever hope to loosen. We can feel overwhelmed by the enormity of the problems that exist, but if we each do our part, I believe it will make a difference. We know that God calls us to walk with those who are marginalized, as Jesus, God's own son, spent a great deal of time with those who society rejected. If Jesus loved those who society did not, we must love them too, and help them in whatever ways we can. Hopefully, TOOLS, while focusing on the spiritual and faith-based aspects of walking with those in poverty, also helps to deconstruct the stereotypes that exist around poverty and homelessness, and why people end up in destructive patterns and lifestyles. It is my hope that the program helps to plant a seed or desire in participants to look for more opportunities to help those who are struggling, and empowers them to make a difference in their own communities. As Patrick our streetwalk leader always asks us after we've walked with him, 'What will happen if we all go out and change our own little piece of the world?'. We loudly reply, 'We will have changed the world!'
"We must seek the healing of the marred identity of the poor. We must treat them as valuable human beings, made in the image of God, loved by God. We must listen to them as if they have something to contribute, because they do. They simply do not appreciate how much they know. We must encourage the belief that God is for them and that God has given everyone something to contribute."
I found the TOOLS program to be wildly exhilarating and informing. It really opened my eyes to the extreme poverty that tens of thousands of people in Toronto must deal with every day. Not only did we get the chance to help these people, but we got the chance to work long the people who have devoted their lives to help the homeless. One man we met had worked at the Scott Mission for 18 out of his 23 years in Canada. I could tell he really enjoyed his job and harboured a strong love for all of the people his kitchen served. He knew that a personal connection with the people eating from his kitchen was more important than the food itself. Meeting people like this was the most interesting part of my trip. It was cool to see how each mission had different policies and ways they ran. Each one was tuned to meet the needs of the people in the surrounding area. It was a delight to see every mission and to have the chance to work in them. I highly recommend the TOOLS trip to anybody with an open mind and the willingness to lend a hand to the people who need it most.
