[homeles_ot-l] Remembering Tom Hogan

Tue Feb 4 15:36:52 EST 2014

TY ALL!

Sincerely,

Craig Marsden
Pratical Assistance Worker
Urban Outreach Team
Centretown Community Health Centre
420 Cooper Street
Ottawa ON
K2P 2N6
613 233 4443 ext 2218
[qrcode]

From: homeles_ot-l [mailto:homeles_ot-l-bounces at list.web.net] On Behalf Of Wendy Muckle
Sent: Tuesday, February 04, 2014 3:35 PM
To: 'Delores Peltier'; Linda Lalonde; 'Mike Bulthuis'; homeles_ot-l at list.web.net
Cc: 'Marc Maracle (E-mail)'; executive.director at odawa.on.ca
Subject: Re: [homeles_ot-l] Remembering Tom Hogan

H Delores, as I am sure you can appreciate, the newspaper article only gave a sliver of the life of Tom.

He was in fact, very connected to Aboriginal culture and received excellent support and care from staff at Wabano through their outreach team for at least the past 10 years.  His memorial service was a blend of Aboriginal and Christian and conducted in partnership between Wabano and Shepherds and was an exact reflection of who Tom was and what he believed in.

You may be interested to know that Wabano conducts a healing circle at the Oaks every week and Tom was a regular.  In fact, he attended and participated only a few days before his death-albeit in a wheelchair since he was very physically weak at that time.  The Oaks has many First Nations residents living there and we all enjoy the richness that blending of various culture and beliefs brings to that community.  We are very fortunate to have not only Wabano but TI who provide care to not only the clients from First Nations but, indeed to all of us who have the privilege to work and collaborate with them.

Tom was not in touch with his family of origin-by his own choice.  He did however have a warm and supportive family also of his own choosing and was much loved by everyone who was privileged to be included.  He is sadly missed but, we celebrate his life and were glad to be part of it.

From: homeles_ot-l [mailto:homeles_ot-l-bounces at list.web.net] On Behalf Of Delores Peltier
Sent: Monday, February 3, 2014 8:46 AM
To: 'Linda Lalonde'; 'Mike Bulthuis'; homeles_ot-l at list.web.net<mailto:homeles_ot-l at list.web.net>
Cc: 'Marc Maracle (E-mail)'; executive.director at odawa.on.ca<mailto:executive.director at odawa.on.ca>
Subject: Re: [homeles_ot-l] Remembering Tom Hogan

Hello Linda,

Thank you for sharing another perspective to the side of Tom we as readers did not know about.  Coming from the Aboriginal community here in Ottawa we do not always hear the stories of our Aboriginal homeless or the ones confined due to addictions issues.  It was nice to see that he was remembered by putting an article in Saturday’s Ottawa Citizen but at the same time where were all the community groups, individuals, agencies while he was living, why is it only now that he was glorified for who he was and not while he was that great painter?  Did he even know of his own Aboriginal community and was he able to reach out to them?

I hope that this story (both sides) can be shared and discussed amongst those who work with the homeless population and to make that difference and make that change happen.  All too often it is said that “it is not my/our problem” then whose problem is it?  It is a collective issue which does need to be addressed.

With a little more dignity, even though Tom did not live his cultural life through, could have been sent off in the way he was brought into this world by his roots – of his Aboriginal ancestral ties and not just shipped off and forgotten.  Where will family and relatives find the homeless if there is no way to send them back home?

These are just some of my thoughts and hope that this discussion will continue, not only for the Aboriginal homeless but also for others.

Delores Peltier-Corkey

From: homeles_ot-l [mailto:homeles_ot-l-bounces at list.web.net] On Behalf Of Linda Lalonde
Sent: February 1, 2014 1:25 PM
To: Mike Bulthuis; homeles_ot-l at list.web.net<mailto:homeles_ot-l at list.web.net>
Subject: Re: [homeles_ot-l] Remembering Tom Hogan

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.

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.

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.

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?

Linda.

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."  Dr Seuss.
________________________________
From: Mike Bulthuis <mike at endhomelessnessottawa.ca<mailto:mike at endhomelessnessottawa.ca>>
In today’s Ottawa Citizen, 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.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Friends+poignant+goodbye+made+streets+home/9454619/story.html

Mike Bulthuis
Executive Director
Alliance to End Homelessness Ottawa
171 George Street, Ottawa ON K1N 5W5
613-241-1573, ext. 314

PLEASE ADD OUR ADDRESS,
homeles_ot-l at list.web.net<mailto:homeles_ot-l at list.web.net>
to your email contact list.

THEN email your homelessness and housing messages to that address to reach the full list or to reply to a posting.

This list is not moderated; there is no editorial review.

Please try to keep messages to 200KB or less, including attachments, so that all subscribers are able to receive them.

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.

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.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://list.web.net/pipermail/homeles_ot-l/attachments/20140204/154e2760/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 1249 bytes
Desc: image001.png
URL: <http://list.web.net/pipermail/homeles_ot-l/attachments/20140204/154e2760/attachment-0001.png>