I Love Regina!

The article below is already months old. I've been wanting to comment for some time, but it's been a busy year!! In actuality, Gatehouse's article in Macleans came at an opportune time for us. We had just purchased a building in North Central. The Catholics had to give up their gorgeous Sacred Heart Church, so we purchased it, began services, and moved 9 women and their children into the Rectory! This doubled our Womens LifeChange Program capacity, and allowed us to move single dads into the family wing across the street. We are now quite possibly the only residential recovery program for single dads in the country!

At the same time, we were announcing a merger of two major ministries in the city of Regina. Souls Harbour and Regina RESCUE Mission (headquartered in the now infamous North Central) were joining forces to provide a full continuum of care for the needy in our city.

Not only that, the three levels of government held a press release announcing the grant to the new Souls Harbour RESCUE Mission of a 30 suite apartment block and emergency shelter, to be built... you guessed it, in North Central!

So, yes, the press was all over us that week. And now it's a rare person in this city that hasn't heard of the all-new Souls Harbour RESCUE Mission.


But what do I REALLY think of this article? I do have a few thoughts I've been mulling over.

1. The title was sensationalistic, meant to grab your attention, tabloid style.

2. North Central Regina IS an impoverished neighbourhood, but no worse than other neighbourhoods in Canada. Have you ever walked the streets of East Vancouver?

3. Bathgate didn't do a thorough enough job reporting if he didn't interview the largest service provider in North Central Regina. With a million dollar budget, Souls Harbour RESCUE Mission makes their headquarters in North Central, and serves this neighbourhood as well as the Core.

We provide 107,000 meals annually, over 30,000 nights of lodging, and, our signature program takes many men, women, and families off the streets for good. Not only do they leave their former lifestyle, they move back into this community (with our promotion) and begin to give back through church, our alumni program, and work and/or volunteerism.

Further brief, yet EXCELLENT reading on the subject by my blog friend, Lee Harding:

1. What's missing in Macleans
2. Canada's Worst Neighbourhood Part II