Since 1988, Ottawa Innercity Ministries (OIM) has been serving those struggling with poverty and homelessness in our community. We engage our Street Friends and take a strength based approach as we come alongside people to build and invest in relationships. It really is about making a difference one person at a time, over time, by creating bonds of trust and inspiring people to hope, where hope wasn’t even on their radar.  With reliance on financial donations and gifts of resources, specific outreach activities include:

Street Outreach:  trained volunteers meet men and women living on the street, create trusting relationships, and work to filling both physical and personal needs.  Every night teams walk the through the downtown core, meet up with “Street Friends and hand out sandwiches and beverages, toiletries, and basic clothing such as socks and seasonal wear.

Door Outreach: on Tuesday afternoons, people come to OIM’s building for lunches, food hampers and other basic supplies.

Winterwear:  In season on Thursdays, Friends come into the building to outfit themselves for winter.  They pick up coats and boots, gloves, hats, scarves, sleeping bags, blankets and other items needed to get them through the cold.