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Street Reach Ministries
It’s been just over three years since we opened up our centre at 633 Simpson Street in the heart of Thunder Bay’s infamous neighbourhood. When during the day, cars are busy driving through the area getting from one end of the city to the other to their business and when at night, cars can be seen coming back into the area to do another type of business involving prostitution and drugs. This is the ministry environment for Street Reach and the people it chooses to serve. People who suffer from poverty, lack of education, mental illness, drug and alcohol addiction, aids and unemployment. Many of them have criminal records and many of them come from broken homes. Street Reach Ministries opens its doors during the evening and weekend hours to provide a safe and caring environment where people can come in, have a coffee, sit and talk, play a game of cards and when the situation presents itself, come for prayer. It takes time to build relationships. It takes time to build a good reputation on the street and in the hearts of people who by nature have been ostracized by society, ignored by the mainstream and led down an unhealthy path of poor decisions. Street Reach Ministries has seen a gradual change in people coming to the centre. A change from selfishness and self-centredness to helping others, from simply walking out of the centre at the end of the night to actually helping pile chairs, vacuuming the carpet, washing the dishes and taking out the garbage. Time builds relationships not only between the volunteers and the people who visit Street Reach but it build relationships between those who come in and what happens at the centre and between the people themselves. There truly is a sense of community, a family and a wonderful support system that is growing. The centre is to be celebrated as a healthy substitute to the bars and the street corners and back alleys of Simpson Street. Along with other ministries in the area, people now can make choices that can benefit them in better ways and perhaps provide hope for a better future. Jesus says, “You will always have the poor with you” We are here to minister to them! Pastor Neil Otke
Goals of Street Reach Ministries
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Our Resource Centre is located at 633 Simpson Street, Thunder Bay, Ontario