I'm excited to be involved in a new initiative to establish a facility on the South side of Edmonton which will provide a holistic approach to try to end homelessness in our city. The main focus will be building relationships and a "housing first" strategy. It was amazing to see so many volunteers from a broad spectrum of churches come together to get this idea off the ground. Tonight a steering committee and 3 subcommittees were formed. My own passion is to connect as many churches as possible (particularly those who haven't heard of the project yet) and I'm looking forward to contributing within the public awareness subcommittee.
Prayers for this project and the volunteers involved is very much appreciated. The first big challenge will be finding a suitable property for lease or construction with the appropriate zoning, and overcoming potential resistance within the future residential neighborhood. 16 committee positions had to be filled tonight and it took only an hour to find the needed volunteers. To me that was truly a miracle of the Spirit of God. I was so impressed by the passion of those introducing themselves and the expertise they already have through previous involvement with the homeless. I'm feeling really pumped right now seeing all the love and compassion and momentum God has already created in this new venture to make a lasting difference!
