<html><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:HelveticaNeue, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif;font-size:10pt"><div><span>While I'm glad to see that Tom finally got noticed, I wish I could believe anything will come of this. Having known Tom and dozens of other Toms over the years, while we take tiny baby steps like The Oaks, the root problems are rarely addressed. For many in our city, the 'benefit' of places like The Oaks is that it removes the scourge of homelessness from under their noses - and, of course, they define that 'scourge' very differently from how I would.</span></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;"><span><br></span></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica,
Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;"><span>Perhaps it's time to do something concrete to remember Tom by changing the way we respond to the unhomed in this community. There is no reason or excuse for there to be anyone living in a shelter or on the street in Ottawa. It's lousy human service and it makes no sense from a fiscal angle. We could change that easily but, as a community, it's not a priority and so we choose not to make that difference.</span></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;"><span><br></span></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;"><span>It's easy to feel sad when you're
reading, in the comfort of your home, about the end of Tom's life. Isn't it nice that he found a place to live before he died and how kind of his friends to support him at the end. Well, that's bullshit - he lived a life of hell in our institutions and on our streets as do hundreds like him on a daily basis. A warm bed and a door he could close - we owed him that and a whole lot more.</span></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;"><span><br></span></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;"><span>Don't sleep easy tonight - that's a luxury that wasn't provided to Tom for most of his life. In our foster homes and on our streets, there are
dozens of Toms in the making. What are you going to do about it?</span></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;"><span><br></span></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;"><span>Linda.</span></div><div></div><div> </div><div><span style="color: rgb(24, 24, 24); font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." Dr Seuss.</span><br></div> <div style="font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> <div
style="font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <div dir="ltr"> <hr size="1"> <font size="2" face="Arial"> <b><span style="font-weight:bold;">From:</span></b> Mike Bulthuis <mike@endhomelessnessottawa.ca><br><br></font></div><div class="y_msg_container"><div id="yiv4498306101"><style><!--
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--></style><div><div class="yiv4498306101WordSection1"><div class="yiv4498306101MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In today’s <i>Ottawa Citizen</i>, Bruce Deachman has written a lovely piece remembering the life of Tom Hogan. Tom was a resident of the Oaks, and spent his last days in January at the Mission’s hospice. The article beautifully acknowledges Tom’s gifts to our community, along with recognizing the local staff, volunteers and friends that cared for Tom. </span></div><div class="yiv4498306101MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="yiv4498306101MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Friends+poignant+goodbye+made+streets+home/9454619/story.html">http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Friends+poignant+goodbye+made+streets+home/9454619/story.html</a></span></div><div
class="yiv4498306101MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="yiv4498306101MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="yiv4498306101MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="yiv4498306101MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Mike Bulthuis</span></b></div><div class="yiv4498306101MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Executive Director</span></div><div class="yiv4498306101MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: red;">Alliance to End Homelessness Ottawa</span></b></div><div class="yiv4498306101MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">171 George Street, </span><span style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Ottawa ON K1N 5W5</span></div><div
class="yiv4498306101MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">613-241-1573, ext. 314</span></div><div class="yiv4498306101MsoNormal"> </div></div></div></div><br>PLEASE ADD OUR ADDRESS,<br><a ymailto="mailto:homeles_ot-l@list.web.net" href="mailto:homeles_ot-l@list.web.net">homeles_ot-l@list.web.net</a><br>to your email contact list.<br><br>THEN email your homelessness and housing messages to that address to reach the full list or to reply to a posting.<br><br>This list is not moderated; there is no editorial review.<br><br>Please try to keep messages to 200KB or less, including attachments, so that all subscribers are able to receive them.<br><br>The listserv does not permit Blind copy, BCC addresses or the use of too many Send To addresses. The best thing is to email to this list on its own.<br><br>The Alliance to End Homelessness does not verify the accuracy of submitted messages nor necessarily endorse the
opinions expressed by message authors. Message authors are solely responsible for content of their messages.<br><br><br></div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>