Strategic Plan

Executive Summary

Trust is the premise of establishing a lasting relationship. However, one achieves trust in time. The assumption that the homeless will trust any service providers based on the provision is unrealistic. Therefore, it is paramount, to begin with, a connection to the homeless. Shalom Ministry Centre understands that we will have to foster such a relationship with a constant presence in our community’s street in the connection process. The continuous presences allow Shalom Ministry to connect with the homeless, and it began with a cup of coffee that inaugurates the conversation. Here, began a discovery process for both individuals having a cup of coffee and introducing necessary information about each other. When such a process carries on, the two individuals will begin a relationship that eventually trusts will be set in motion. The motion starts the problem-solving of the person in need, such as finding a home, referral to treatment, assisting with an application for government funding (welfare or other) and service providers, and government agencies.

Shalom Ministry Center is a ministry that works to help the homeless and recovery from addiction. We have been established since 2015. Sholom’s name means wholeness, restored or made complete, which describes Sholom’s goal for the people they work with. Shalom has a clear focus and aims to help vulnerable individuals be made whole and free from addictions. They can experience the dignity of living with purpose and meaning through the expressions of care and love of Jesus Christ, the world’s ultimate provider of freedom and example to follow. Shalom Activity: Shalom Outreach has a two-track program. The first track comprises the worker going to visit the street people where they are staying, come alongside them for friendships and trust relationships, and provide them with coffee and other essential items. The second track that is currently in development is where the street people and marginalized are invited to a Shalom drop-in center, help desk, to be served with basic identification needs, skills development, online applications, and other practical, social, or spiritual needs.

Shalom Board

The Shalom board comprises leaders who have a heart for the street community and a passion for seeing a holistic and free life experienced by each of their street friends. Presently Shalom has board members with backgrounds in senior home care work, financial accounting, electrical work, secretarial services, college presidential leadership, and pastoral ministries.

Shalom Charity Agent

The Shalom Ministry Centre, registered with the B.C. Societies Act is a faith-based agent of the Canadian Resources for Ministry Foundation (CRMF) Charity (BN835406687RR0001) works with the homeless street people in Abbotsford with Shalom. The director of CRMF is Helmut Wiens, email: helmut@mmf1985.org.

The Outreach Plan

Shalom Ministry Centre plans to expand its outreach to the homeless and addicted. For the past six years, Shalom Outreach has worked with the homeless in Abbotsford and the surrounding area. We have reached the homeless by attending to their immediate needs, assisting in government applications (welfare), finding homes that include supporting them, and acting on their behalf in their relationship with the landlord. We have achieved establishing a connection with many and formed a relationship with some. We also discover that it became apparent that connecting with the same people was challenging without a permanent place. For instance, we establish a relationship with an individual and begin a plan to attend to the need, but we could not connect further for days and weeks. Therefore, we need to have a fixed location to have an efficient way to communicate with the homeless.

Our plan to expand the outreach is in four mobile components. First is the coffee wagon, a modified car to serve coffee from the hatchback. The second portion of this is a mobile office. The office would function in the capacity of the help desk. The following two are mobile laundry and mobile drop-in center, which will be a specialized vehicle. The mobile laundry truck will
pull the mobile drop-in center.

We will continue our service to homelessness with our “walkabout” and “pizza in the park.” Our expansion plan will require four strategic directions to direct the action plan for our expansion to our outreach. Each strategy will have its action plan implemented in stages, allowing flexibility in our development execution.

Second, a drop-in center will offer peer counseling, spiritual care, a tenant support worker, and a housing research specialist. All these services will be available at the coffee house. The drop-in center and coffee wagon will also help those at risk of becoming homeless, relapse prevention, finding homes, referral to a treatment center or mental health, and any social housing. The drop-in center will also offer special programs that will focus on life skills, conflict resolution, budgeting, recovery, and other such programs that promote independent and healthy living.

Shalom Recovery

Our aim is first to present salvation, yet one must begin with sobriety to understand salvation. Hence, we propose a holistic approach to begin recovery, which started the process of wholeness. (Shalom State) We believe that today’s recovery centers are missing the mark. For instance, the rate of success is 3 to 5%. Therefore, Shalom Ministry endeavors to present an adjustment to recovery. Our Executive Director Pierre Bissonnette MA has proposed such a recovery solution. During his study at TWU, he discovers some of the missing links. For instance, the addict is emotionally immature, and as a result, the addict cannot grow spiritually, and the solution is spiritual growth. Therefore, Pierre is entering TWU research to answer what is broken in the recovery program to present a solution to increase the success rate to 50 to 75%. The research is part of Pierre Doctrine’s diploma, which will begin in September 2021. Our recovery program called “The Science of Recovery Where Faith meets Science” is presented to various recovery houses in Abbotsford. We also offer Spiritual counseling to address emotional immaturity and lead our clients to spiritual growth.

The Recovery Plan

Most homeless who suffer from addiction have the desire to sober up. Yet because of the lack of service in the industry of recovery and lack of detox. The homeless become a victim of the system as the system is  geared toward more functioning addicts. However, some treatment centers attend to rectify this problem but cannot individualize solutions for the homeless as they operate within their regulation.

We plan to attend to this problem in two full—one a low barrier house as a pre-treatment, and second a nonmedical detox.

The Low Barrier House

The low-barrier house model will function as a place for the homeless to begin pre- recovery. The process is for a time of six months; we invite the resident to recover, and this period is to stimulate a decision to start healing. Once the sixth month is over, one must decide either way. When a decision is made in favor of recovery, we will guide them toward detox and
treatments. However, when one decides toward recovery instead of returning to homelessness, we will help them find a new residence.

The Detox

The Nonmedical Detox term is used loosely; it means that it is not a hospitalized detox. The detox is in a house where a service comes to the house to dispense medication run by mental health.

The Recovery Center

We hope to establish a treatment center that will approach recovery beginning with the “Bio, Psyche, Social, Spiritual” model, which encompasses the whole person. As such, our model is not a “One size fits all” approach. Rather, catering to the unique need of the individuals. However, the primary application and spiritual principle remain the same. Our treatment center aims to attend to everyone’s core of addiction, using various methodology aspects as a framework. For instance, intergrading psychology and theology. As such, an individual could understand their mental process and find a solution in the Biblical text.

The treatment center will offer a multi-facet of recovery. For instance, a multi-trade center such as carpentry, mechanic, auto body, auto paint, welding, etc. The objective of the trade center is to promote self-esteem and learning skills for the client’s future. As such, this would attend to another missing link of recovery, which is two full. The first is most addicts lack self-esteem; using what they will accomplish in the shop will give them a sense of accomplishment which translates into self-esteem. Because most addicts lack skill; therefore, offering a future carrier skill will boost their ability to remain sober as there is hope for the future.

The concept is to help homeless people restore life and live free from addiction by coming to Shalom State (wholeness). The recovery plan presented here is a small plan of the central portion of the recovery plan. Both aspects of Shalom Ministry Center, the outreach, and the recovery program are essential to transform an individual into wholeness. Yet, they do not address the post-treatment plan, which assists living in developing the returning to society, which is the social aspect of the model. However, we believe that the program of recovery is paramount for one to be restored to wholeness. We also understand that such a plan is ambitious but not out of reach with the proper funding to develop such an endeavor.