[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]A few weeks ago, I met with Emily, our Project Rise coordinator, and two program participants, to chat with them about their experience as well as their hopes for the future. My first interviewee, Fanny, tells me she heard about Project Rise at Samaritan Place, one...
It is a question that has been at the forefront for Sue Fichtler, member of the support team at Orca Place Supportive Housing program throughout the past few months after the untimely loss of her son Evan. It is the kind of thing that can break...
Our current Project Rise cohort participants have all finished the in-class training portion of the program and are well into their work placements. It has been an amazing experience for our participants so far and three of them were happy to share some of their...
By Deb Crosby, ICCS Volunteer Writer I admire people with certain qualities; honesty, kindness, compassion, generosity, strength, intelligence, perseverance, resilience, resourcefulness and a zest for life and learning. Recently, I was privileged to interview a young woman named Bev, who embodied them all! Despite a busy schedule,...
By Sheila Backman, ICCS Volunteer Writer Sometimes there is a stereotype about the people who populate ICCS programs. One of the realities we see every day, though, is that stereotypes are rarely realities. Each of the clients in our programs is a unique individual, with their...
The event: Coldest Night of the Year 2023 The Aim: To raise awareness and commitment to programming for people who have experienced homelessness and/or precarious housing in Nanaimo When is it? Saturday February 25th, 2023 Where will it start? Maffeo Sutton Park in Nanaimo and Parksville Community Park...
Fall is here and the weather has turned cold. Our Project Rise participants are enjoying their last week of workshops and trainings before they are moving on to the next step in the program, their work placements. I sit down with three of the participants...
By Debbie Crosby ICCS Storytelling volunteer It’s not every day that one has the privilege of meeting a hero. I’m grateful that I did recently, in the Island Crisis Care Society Offices above the Nanaimo Bakery. Reese, a soft spoken, well dressed young man had...
By Sheila Backman, ICCS storytelling volunteer The Japanese do not discard their broken pottery. Instead, they mix gold dust with lacquer to make repairs. The break becomes part of the piece’s history and the gold lines running through make the object even stronger...
By Alexandra Soanes, ICCS Communications intern Clients with Island Crisis Care Society are blessed to be able to have safe and secure shelter, food and care. Yet at times, having access to another service or support – something as simple as a haircut or as...