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June 2019 Newsletter

Dates to remember in June

 

  • FUN AT GEARY PARK - Every Wednesday, 2pm.  Meet us outside the centre to walk to Geary Park together or just meet us there! We will be there until 3:30 for snacks, games and relaxing in the sun or under a shady tree. 
     

  • SUMMER BBQs - Every Wednesday in June, 5pm. Jeanne will be firing up the BBQ!
     

  • ART THERAPY - Every Thursday, 6pm. We are so excited to announce that Art Therapy sessions will begin June 6th. Anny, a senior Art Therapy student, will be facilitating an Art Therapy group. You can also let her know if you are interested in one-to-one sessions. Welcome Anny!
     

  • OUTING TO WATCH TONY’S PLAY- Saturday, June 15 at 5:30pm. Come and support our friend Tony! Only room for 8- please sign up. **NOTE: the centre will remain open!
     

  • CAR WASH FUNDRAISER - Thursday, June 20, 4-6pm. Come and give us a hand with our first car wash of the season! All helpers get a free BBQ dinner. 
     

  • OUR PLACE CHOIR - Fridays at 4pm. Join our extremely talented volunteer, Dion, every Friday to sing your heart out! All voices are welcome and singing experience is not required.
     

  • OUTING TO THE TORONTO ZOO - Wednesday, June 26th at 12pm. We are renting a bus and hitting the road to the ZOO! Please sign up ahead of time. **NOTE: You must be at the centre at 12pm SHARP! Centre will be closed that day.
     

  • COMMUNITY MEETING - Thursday, June 27th at 4pm. Come and find out what special events are coming up in the following month and have a say in what goes on in the Our Place community.
     

  • CANADA DAY BBQ - Friday, June 28th at 5pm. Wear your red!
     

  • FREE PIZZA PARTY - Saturday, Saturday, June 29 at 5:30pm. Everyone welcome!

Coming up in July
 

  • A three-part Conflict Resolution Workshop. Wednesday, July 10, 17, 24 at 2:30pm. Everyone welcome!

 

Highlights from May
 

  • First outing of the month is at Cherry Blossoms at High Park! Although the trees did not bloom the day of the outing, everyone still had a blast!
     

  • Members had a surprise visit from Ace at the Blue Jays Game!
     

  • Juan from the City of Toronto came to present on gardening outside. We are looking forward to getting outside and getting our hands in the dirt.
     

  • Ashley, a dietitian from the West Toronto Diabetes Education Program, presented on Type 2 Diabetes. She answered a lot of questions and gave us tons of great tips on healthy-living.
     

  • Choir started with Dion and we got a new piano!
     

  • Our lovely Jeanne made Moroccan-flavored chicken with couscous for Moroccan Night.
     

  • Alanna awarded 4 dedicated Yogis with $10 Tim Horton’s gift cards in May. Attend 3 classes in June and get a gift card. All levels of ability are welcome!
     

  • SPRING SPRUNG!! We began bringing in fresh, local vegetables for everyone so that we can start the new season off promoting good health.  

Our Place Good Deeds &

Random Acts of Kindness

  • Kierov donated a Monopoly set.
     

  • Ben offered staff assistance with garbage and many other things around the centre.
     

  • Dom paid for the train for some people at the Cherry Blossoms, at High Park.
     

  • Bill helped staff when the internet was down.
     

  • Mike G. offered his winning prizes to others, and took nothing for himself.
     

  • Lisa donated three decks of cards to use for tournaments!
     

  • Rachel donated 2L soda pops for pizza party!
     

  • MP bought a friend in need dinner.
     

  • Helena has brought our plants back to life and continues to nurture them.
     

  • Plants were donated by Helena and new participants, Arnie and Merina.

Good deeds like these don't go unnoticed

and are what makes Our Place such

a special community to be part of. Thank you!

A Few Things From Staff

  • Thank you to everyone who pitched-in to help keep the centre running smoothly. From taking out the garbage, to cleaning bathrooms, doing dishes, transplanting plants, handing out Our Place pamphlets to friends and family… we appreciate your contribution to the Our Place community.
     

  • Great news… remember Manisha… the awesome student we had in the Spring? Well, she is coming back to Our Place! She will be with us 5 days a week, June-September. Welcome back Manisha!
     

  • We want to remind everyone that the centre is a shared space- your shared space. Please take responsibility for your own messes by bringing in your dishes, cleaning up spills and putting waste in the designated bins. 
     

  • We want to congratulate Marie on 3 years of sobriety! WAY TO GO MP!
     

  • Staff are here to help you access community resources. Please see us if  you need help with housing, food access, TTC, mental health supports, shelter, etc. Or if you just want 
     

Thank you for another great month. We are looking forward to spending the summer with you all! Here’s hoping for lots of sunshine, laughter and friendship in June.
 

~ Alanna, Christie, Cleopatra, Dane,

Jeanne, Jona, Kristel & Natasha     

Writing Group Submissions


Summertime
by Teresa C.


Summertime is fun in the sun.
The birds and the bees,
Fly into the flowers and the trees.
The flowers are planted in the spring,
And the birds begin to sing.
The grass begins to grow,
But not very slow.
The children in the summer time are out of school,
They usually like swim in the pool.
Children sometimes like to play a favorite sport,
Which is sometimes tennis at the courts.
The children sometimes have to study in summer school,
That is the golden rule.
As summer time ends it is very sad,
The teachers will be teaching again and the teachers will be glad.
 

To Be or not to Be Dramatic …


This article may be timely as I reckon many deal with Drama Queens or tense Drama on a daily basis. My hope is that some bit of knowledge is applied and / or found useful by the reader.  Recently, I was absorbed in dialogue. I was sharing about and expressing myself to a supportive ear. The awareness and attention from both parties was focused. This event unfolded via a personal request to chat for a bit. I was trying to get some feedback or different perspective on something.

 

As we talked more clarity was added to what I was really asking. The feedback was to be honest and critical, and it was! I was actually seeking some constructive criticism.  It was noticed that when I put forward some input especially while sharing, I seem or tend to focus more on others and hardly on myself. It's not like I've never heard similar feedback before, but this time, it hit me a little more profound. I do share personal bits of information at times with the theme or underlying story dealing with frustration, agitation, anxiety and mood swings, but this current feedback echoed within me as if some words had struck a chord.


I will not say my paradigm shifted, but a seed was planted towards a view that had just started to a new dawn. I can't tell you how that "a-ha" moment felt, when I could see and notice the pattern too. In not so many words my problem was localizing or being grounded.


Perhaps, the passion for my Mission/Dream of being “Page” the I.N.R.I. Universal Helper is corrupted. I don’t know, but I will reconsider the feedback and go on with the flow. This does not change the fact that I strive to live in PEACE by the Golden Rule, to not harm with words and deeds, and to pray to be honored with TRUTH.  


A little while later after this event or productive meet, just like magic some information appeared before me, like synchronicity the Most High provides.      

I became aware of a couple of concepts or models. These 2 models form a pragmatic tool if applied to a situation or condition. One model explains a pattern of victimhood while the other is its’ counter. The counter is able to take you from a negative to a more positive condition. The 2 models I looked into were: (D.D.T.) The Dreadful Drama Triangle by Dr. Stephen  Karpman as conceived in 1960. Himself being an actor noticed similarities between acting roles and what happens in real life. Imagine the big silver screen, the movie begins, the moving / motion pictures unfold dramatic stories that keep the attention, What do you see? What do hear? Once you choose to pay … attention! Your senses can be manipulated and can easily tug at and program your emotions for desired effect. 


The other concept or model is called (T.E.D.) The Empowerment Dynamic. This was put forth by David Emerald as possible fix or counter for D.D.T. This model replaces the roles in the drama triangle with roles that help in getting out of the victimhood mentality.


The drama triangle pattern of Victim, Persecutor (Villain) and Rescuer seems to drive the narrative. This same pattern or model of roles can actually embed into our true personal experiences. The roles are not static and because they are dynamic we can often take on any one of them. The triangle helps 

to explain the narratives created by the Victim, (Villain) and hero. I use the understanding of the dreaded drama triangle as a tool to assess the present condition or situation. Nobody likes drama but sometimes I think Shakespeare was right about the world being a stage and we all are mere actors.


To counter the Dreaded Drama Triangle we have The Empowerment Dynamic model. The Victim role becomes a Creator role which empowers towards a positive change.  The Persecutor/Villain role becomes a Challenge/r role which enables the actor to rise to the occasion with courage, remembering that even in failure there is also much to be gained as far as learning goes.

The Rescuer role is replaced with a Coach/Teacher role. Rescuing can be exhausting in many ways, be it physical, emotional and even intellectually, hence it’s best to teach victims to how to fish instead of giving them a daily fish. The feedback from the staff member of Our Place - Community of Hope was truly beneficial and will be a work in progress towards a more positive change in my life. I will exercise more assertively on decreasing my passive and aggressive tendencies. I need to be aware of my tendencies or M.O. (Modus Operandi – Mode of Operation)
 
My personal take away from the event or meet has been that, I need to watch and catch myself falling into the rescuer role and learn to coach myself first. I like the analogy  Peter Carter, the writers’ workshop facilitator used. Peter  said “It’s like when oxygen masks drop in flying planes, for safety, first they go on you then you can help others”.


All games learned to play have rules, once known how to play, the rules can be changed.  I'm not saying that life is a game, but it's not difficult to notice patterns, if bad change them for better if not best. From the beginning Pattern has been and matter just unfolds and evolves according. It is so beautiful and Harmonious to me how the Creator creates creation and all its’ creatures with creativity to be fruitful and multiply. Ladies and Gentlemen, Page sharing a possible tool for your personally driven Resurrection!


by Pedro Vallejo a.k.a. “Page” - 2019 

My Daddy
by Kimi Acevedo


My dad’s name was Edward John Philp. He was born Monday June 5th, 1950. I loved my father so much. For a living he was a truck driver therefore he loved his coffee and so do I. When I was little and in grade elementary school, every P.A Day I went with my dad to work. I loved it. I even got to help unload the truck sometimes.

 

He loved the Radio station Q107. He was part Irish and Scottish.  He was born here in Canada. He was one of a kind. I wanted to go everywhere with my dad.  I have a memory of him that I would like to share. I think I was 8 or 9 years old when my mom went to the hospital and she was there for an operation. My dad decided to do the laundry and that was a mistake.

 

The reason was I went down to the basement and the basement had soap suds everywhere. I just laughed and didn’t bother to help him clean it up. I said to myself thank goodness my mom is not here to see this. One other one I had was my parents had 2 cats Puss and Boots they were sisters. They both were always in my brother’s room. So I went up to my dad one day and asked “Dad, Puss and Boots are always in Edward’s room and never come to mine. “ He said in return “go into your brother’s room and take one when he is sleeping”.

 

So one day I did just that.

 

I thought my brother was sleeping but he wasn’t. He went and told my mom. I got in trouble. I told my mom what my dad told me to do it and she said “when I asked my dad that, had he had a few beers?” I said yes. I got grounded for a week. My father understood me and my decisions.

 

As I grew older I still looked for the days I would to go my parent’s house and chill with my dad. I longed for my dad’s hugs. My mom still tells me to this day I am so much like him it isn’t funny.  Growing up all of his friends I called uncle. So I have an awesome extended family. Even one of his friends Uncle Terry takes care of me and checks up on me after my dad passed away.

 

This August 28th will be 16 years since he passed away. He died from Lung Cancer from smoking cigarettes. I miss him every day. I love him so much. My dad was of my mentors because he was an awesome man.

 

I wish I could hug him one last time. Rest in Peace Daddy. Happy Father’s Day.

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