Upper Room Mission Graduates!!

I am excited for the first group of basic computer training students to have completed the 10 week program here at the Upper Room Mission. The intention of this program is to help bridge the technological gap between the homeless and the rest of the community. It was incredible to see the progress of the individuals; from not being able to double- click to e-mailing, typing, Facebook, and creating a newsletter for their fellow Mission guests. Great effort group!

The individuals from the first Basic Computer Training graduated on April 6th 2009 and took home with them a full computer set-up donated by the Okanagan College and Sprott-Shaw Collage, both in Vernon B.C. Thank you for your generosity. The Computers are set up and functioning in each of the graduates homes. They are enthusiastic to come into the Mission and share with us us all of the new things they are learning about their computer, access to the Internet, music and picture sharing. They have all expressed so much appreciation for this new opportunity, however they have really been the ones to do all the work.

Our second ten week Basic Computer Program has begun on April 27th 2009, and we look forward to more to come. For more information about the computer program or to donate a computer in good working condition please contact Nicole or Karyl at the Upper Room Mission #250-549-1231

Pianting Pictures

We revamped the place with a fresh new coat of paint. People were surprised with the new look on Sunday, Feb 22nd when they walked into a bright new dinning area. We went with a collection of earthy colors: twilight blue, fern green and deep chestnut brown. We were going for cool and calming; one guest told us we gave a whole new depth to the place. The staff at the URM could never have completed the work without the help from volunteers. A special thank-you goes out to the volunteers from The East Hill Community Church, the Alliance Youth Group, family, friends, and guests of the Upper Room Mission and everyone else who helped with prep and painting on the 20th and 21st. Check out more of the pictures on the website photo album!

Dumping and Donations at the Mission

For those who do not know, The Upper Room Mission is a non profit Christian based organization that provides a day shelter, meals and services to the homeless and working poor. We are funded through our thrift store, grants and individual donations. Gracious community donations to the Upper Room Mission store helps generate sustainable funding for the day shelter and soup kitchen to operate. We are so thankful for the communities support!

There has been however, on more than a few occasions people misusing our drop off friendly parking lot by dumping over used and destroyed items after hours. It creates a terrible mess in front of the building and wastes The Upper Room Mission time and money to dispose of the items properly. We hope the installation of our new surveillance system inside and around our building will deter people from dumping.

We are very thankful to all of those people in the community who graciously donate new and gently used items to the Upper Room Mission store. We encourage the community to keep the support comming, Thank you!

You can drop off donations:

*Monday thru Friday from 9:00am till 4:00pm at the store

*Sat 10:00am till 3:00pm at the store

*After hour clothing donations can be put in our clothing chute

*Items too large for chute should not be left outside for they are generally stolen or destroyed

*Sunday donations can be given to Upper Room Mission Day Shelter staff (far left door)

Our doors are open because of the kindness of our
community, Thank you.

New Manager News!

We are very excited to greet our new Upper Room Mission manager Chuck Harper who is expected to arrive on March 1st! We wish you and your family a safe move from Manitoba and a very warm welcome to Vernon. See you soon!

"Leaving the street for the love of a child"

by Katherine Mortimer - Vernon Morning Star December 19.08

Editor’s note: names have been changed to protect their identities.

photo illustration by Cory Bialecki/Morning Star

As Jasmine breastfeeds her three-month-old son, the infant gazes up at his mother, wrapping his tiny hand around her finger.
The picture of domestic bliss is one the young mother could not have imagined two years ago. Jasmine was a drug addict who spent years living on the streets, and doing what she could to earn enough money for her next hit.
But a couple of months after getting clean, she discovered she was pregnant. She has also discovered happiness, and the simple pleasure of being home with her family.
“When I found out I was pregnant, I completely changed my whole life around,” said Jasmine. “I have embraced motherhood with strength and joy.”
Now living in a cozy suite with her partner, John, the 18-year-old said she’s proud of the way in which she has turned her life around.
“I was in such a bad place for so long, but everyone who helped me deserves some recognition,” she said.
While Jasmine herself did the hard work of getting off drugs, she said there were people along the way who helped and supported her on her journey, including the staff at the Upper Room Mission.
“The Mission was always there, and they used to let me sleep in their parking lot, they had food to eat, and they were so kind.”

Growing up in the Okanagan, Jasmine began using hard drugs such as crystal meth, heroin and cocaine when she was still a youngster, and before long was so addicted that she ended up living on the streets, both in Vernon and, for a time, in Vancouver.
“I met lots of people, and I had to do things to get money,” she said. “I never thought I would ever change.”
Jasmine is quick to point out that the route she took towards drug addiction has nothing to do with her family, calling her mother wonderful and loving. But a chance meeting with other people who were using drugs led her to a world away from the life she knew.
She managed to get to Grade 11, but is now completing her secondary education at home, through Open Door.
“I didn’t see my family for a long time, and it’s only recently that I’ve seen them. Had I cleaned up, I wouldn’t have been afraid to go home, but they didn’t want any drug addicts around.”
Jasmine said her addictive personality and her love of drugs meant that seeking help for her addiction wasn’t an option.
“It felt so good and so right, I was young and that was my life. All that mattered was getting my next hit, you don’t care about anything else.
“Normally, people live their day-to-day lives and are not consumed by just one thing. When you’re on drugs, that’s all you do. It’s people wasting away.”
Living on the streets is not for the faint of heart. Jasmine battled bronchitis every winter, and contracted pneumonia.
“And Vernon is not a really happening town, so there are some nights when I’d be so sad and lonely. In Vancouver, there was more going on.
“You have blackouts and I was up a lot, walking the streets. It’s cold, it’s frustrating, and it’s a lifestyle that’s next to impossible to get out of.”

But a few years ago, Jasmine discovered the services available to the homeless at the Upper Room Mission. But it wasn’t just food that was given by the Mission, it was the people who served up the meals.
“They made all the difference, and it takes a special person to work there.”
Others who made a difference are the staff and volunteers at the Vernon and District Women’s Centre, which has shower and laundry facilities.
“The street nurse was also fantastic, and they would give you clean needles and condoms, but they don’t judge you — you’re doing what you’re doing, and you don’t need anyone saying anything.”
Jasmine eventually ended up in hospital with severe infections on her arms, the result of IV drug use. At Vernon Jubilee Hospital, she had what she calls life-saving surgery. But although she was in a hospital bed for a week, she still managed to have drugs supplied to her.
“When I got out of hospital, I was very skinny and very helpless and I didn’t even recognize myself, my wounds were still expressing pus and blood.”

It wasn’t until she met John, her partner and father of her son, that she began to turn her life around. While also homeless, John was not an addict. They met while bunking down in the stairwell at Polson Plaza, sharing mattress cushions and trying to stay warm. For a time, they lived in a van, sharing one can of tuna over the course of a week.
“He is such a loving person, and because he wasn’t on drugs, we helped each other. I told him I would try to clean up and he gave me a glimpse of what my life could be like because I was wasting myself. I knew I had more to offer.”
Jasmine said she has difficulty explaining the reasons she decided to stop taking drugs but knows that, while meeting John may have been the catalyst, she said it had to be her decision.
“I would not have stopped for anyone or anything, I pretty much did it on my own. I slipped up a few times, but John stayed with me and we got a place.
“But even when I got clean, I had a hard time changing my life around. Everyone always looks down at you and would never give you the time of day.
“You depend on people’s charity in order to survive because you won’t buy food yourself — any money you do get goes towards your next fix.”
After she’d been clean for a couple of months, Jasmine went to the doctor for routine testing for HIV, hepatitis and other diseases. Although disease-free, she discovered that she was two months pregnant.
Still living in the crack shack and just scraping by on welfare, Jasmine said it was a scary situation. She and John found a new home, and she said she didn’t leave the house for the first five or six months of her pregnancy, for fear she’d have a relapse.
“I still had cravings during my pregnancy, but I never touched anything — no one wanted this more than I did, I just wanted to have this baby — and the second I had him, all my cravings vanished.”

Jasmine said while many people turn to a higher power for support, she said she relies on her own strength to get through the tough times.
“I don’t believe there is one god, God is within ourselves.”
During her pregnancy, Jasmine relied on the support and encouragement she received through the First Nations Friendship Centre’s Pre-Natal Nutrition Program.
On July 4, 2008, Jasmine gave birth to a 6 lb. 15 oz. baby boy.
“It was meant to be. Babies are so innocent, so perfect and beautiful. I never understand when I hear parents complain that their baby is crying or won’t sleep, how do you think negatively of such a miraculous gift?”
Born four weeks early, the infant had difficulty breathing and at 4:30 a.m. was rushed to B.C. Children’s Hospital in Vancouver.
“It was so overwhelming, and all I wanted was to hear my baby cry.”
After a week in hospital, the baby recovered. He is now healthy, and sleeping eight hours a night. Jasmine now enjoys attending the get-togethers at the centre, where she socializes with other moms and their babies, moms who just know her as another mother, not a drug addict, not someone living on the streets.
Now selling Avon to help make ends meet, Jasmine said she and John would eventually like to buy their own place. With John working for a contracting company, the couple is doing everything they can to get ahead, with the hope of eventually buying their own home.
“We’d like to move to Victoria to make a fresh start. My whole life has been flipped upside down. Now I go to the Mission to visit and to say hi to everyone.”
Jasmine said she doesn’t socialize with people her own age, finding it hard to relate to what the average teenager is going through.”
“With John and my baby, that’s all I need. I want to work at moving up in society, get better jobs, and an education, just being people living our lives, enjoying life for what it is and feeling lucky to be alive. Things can only go up from here.”
The message Jasmine wants to send is that no matter what challenges, no matter the adversity, and no matter the obstacles, people can change their lives around.
“But you have to do it for yourself, not for God, or for your family, nobody’s spirit is meant to be tortured, everyone has the power to do things for themselves.”

The Upper Room Mission
The Upper Room Mission is a non-profit faith based organization that exists to serve the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the needy and less fortunate in Vernon. It provides three meals a day, seven days a week for the homeless and working poor.
It also offers a variety of other services including: phone usage, locker storage, free clothing giveaways, chapel services, counselling, a literacy program and more.
Manager Andrew Yeo said they are fortunate to have a number of working professionals who offer drop-in service at the Mission, including street nurse Rhodina; Lana Revak, outreach worker for the Ministry of Employment and Income Assistance; and Dave Thackray, drug and alcohol counselor.
“This work is rewarding in many ways and difficult in others,” said Yeo. “The most rewarding thing is to see our guests leave the Mission behind, into a new life of hope and opportunity.
“Often times this involves them relocating to a new town/community and starting their lives with a clean slate and we are fortunate that many of them do keep in touch and give happy and positive reports.”
Through the registration process, Yeo said the Mission is able to determine that its clients — or guests, as they’re called — come from all over, including Vernon, Kelowna, Kamloops as well as those just passing through on their way to Vancouver or back east, as well as seasonal workers.
The URM is supported through a combination of fundraising and the Thrift Store (affectionately referred to as the URM Boutique Shoppe).
“We do rely heavily on the donations of the community – financial and material goods – whether it’s through the church, businesses or individuals,” said Yeo.
The URM also relies on the volunteers that make up 90 per cent of its workforce.
“We couldn’t do the work we do on a daily basis without them — each of them bringing their own talents, humour and skills,” said Yeo. “We cherish our volunteers dearly.
“We are always in need of both ongoing financial support and more volunteers are always welcome, especially in the thrift store and sorting area.”

Our New Refrigerated Truck!!!

When someone is so generous to you (or in this case to our Mission) it's tough to truly express in proper words your gratitude and thanks for all that they've given you. That's how we feel about the team at the Mortgage Centre Rochar here in Vernon. They recognized a need (in our case the need for a refrigerated truck) and they ran with it. Not even like a touchdown, home run or whatever sport analogy you could use - but they really knocked it out of the park -into the stratosphere! Thank you Kari, Sandi, Gail, Charmaine and everyone at the Mortgage Centre - we truly are indebted to you all for all that you have done for us!

A Special Day

The Rock hands out treats for charities
By Roger Knox - Vernon Morning StarPublished: October 31, 2008

Four local organizations found a big lump in their Halloween treat bag on Friday.
And they couldn’t be happier about it.
The Vernon and District Community Land Trust, Vernon Food Bank, Upper Room Mission and B.C. Teen Challenge received cheques totalling $100,000 from the Vernon-based The Rock Developments Corporation at a special ceremony Friday morning.
The cheque presentations were held Halloween morning at The Rock on Heritage, a 60-unit townhouse project located at 4900 Heritage Drive off Bella Vista Road.
It was the developers way of giving something back to the community.
“We want to be a responsible organization and be a community building a community for the betterment of the community,” explained Michael Molnar, joined by project partners Cornell Mulder and David Claeys for the presentations.

The partners, in 2006, set out to fill a gap in Vernon’s affordable housing market, noting that there were few affordable projects for first-time and average income home buyers, and not very many multi-family dwellings.
When they started out The Rock, they set out a condition among the investors: all would agree that a portion of the proceeds from the sale of The Rock units would be donated to charitable organizations in Vernon that would benefit people in need in the community.
The Rock is also donating $100,000 towards a number of projects overseas.
“We were all excited a couple of weeks ago that, on the morning the Dow Jones dropped by 800 points, we’re having a meeting deciding what to do with $200,000,” said Molnar.
The Vernon and District Community Land Trust, an entity that works with people to provide hope and shelter, were the biggest beneficiaries, receiving a cheque for $50,000.
“There’s all kinds of death, destruction and despair out there, we’re bordering on a world recession, and we have a corporation like The Rock doing the right thing for the right reason, providing money for not only shelter, but for hope,” said Randy Kolibaba, director of the Vernon and District Community Land Trust.
“Without hope, there’s no community. There’s no nothing.”
Kolibaba said his organization is working on a couple of projects that he can’t release details on at this time, but said the $50,000 “will help the community immeasurably.”
The Salvation Army Food Bank and the Upper Room Mission each received $20,000. David MacBain from the Food Bank said the cheque was the largest corporate donation ever received in the nine years he’s been in Vernon with the Salvation Army.
Andrew Yeo, manager of the Upper Room Mission, was only too pleased to get a phone call from Molnar’s group.
“It’s not everyday someone calls and says we have $20,000 for you,” smiled Yeo.
B.C. Teen Challenge, a faith-based ministry that helps youth, young adults and adults out of addiction, received $10,000. Representative Aaron Tilley announced that the money would go towards helping establish a women’s centre in the Okanagan Valley.
A cheque for $25,000 was given to the international Christian-based Be-A-Hero organization, which will use the money to support a children’s welfare project in Uganda. Picking up the money for Be-A-Hero was Wesley Campbell, son of former Vernon councillor and provincial MLA Don Campbell, who is now a pastor at a Kelowna church.
Other international projects to receive money from The Rock include an orphanage in the Ukraine and one that buys water well drilling equipment for Africa.