Oak Table
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Mission Statement
Oak Table Inc. provides hospitality, advocacy and support to those in need of a safe, respectful, community.
About This Cause
Covid hit our guests hard. Overnight libraries, community resources, programs closed in response to COVID 19, and guests experiencing homelessness suddenly had no where to get warm, or cool down. Oak Table remained open, and pivoted their service to what was needed - food for the hungry, and shelter for those without a home. For those with a home, we served take out meals to decrease their exposure to the virus. We started provided meal kits for people to make additional meals at home, without all the ingredients (including the meat) included. Many of our volunteers needed to step back because they too were vulnerable, but others who were working from home or doing on-line classes were able to flex their time to provide support. Several volunteers began coming in several times a week. Oak Table has served our community for over 40 years. We have over 100 volunteers active in every aspect of the organization including our drop-in, fundraising, media, board and special events. We provide a safety net for the marginalized in our society; those who are hungry, poor, isolated, living with mental illness or addictions. For many, we are their family, who provides support through difficult times, and helps them connect with needed medical, financial or social services. At Oak Table we feed the hungry and provide a safe community of compassion and hope to the homeless, the poor, and people living with mental illness, as well as people with addictions or going through difficult transitions. Oak Table provided 22,200 nutritious meals last year and that number continues to grow every year. Oak Table is a place our guests can come for respite from the heat or cold; to seek help or a listening ear; to heal from the torment of life; or to receive a much needed meal. At Oak Table we love the under-loved, and provide acceptance to those experiencing rejection and judgement. This is where people come in their grief and despair; during times of trouble; when they are ill; when they don't understand a form they need to fill out; when they don't know how to prepare for an upcoming medical test. People come to be shown love, respect and acceptance. We provide our guests with internet, newspapers, computer access, haircuts, listeners, art supplies, programs and staff support. We focus on assisting people with health concerns; by providing preventative foot-care, programs to assist them in managing chronic illness; and referrals to medical professionals through our partnership with a local health care access centre. We provide space for nurses to meet with guests and have a visiting Nurse Practitioner who ensures people are seen in a place they are already comfortable attending. Oak Table is a community of compassion and hope and for many of our guests and the drop-in becomes their living room where they can engage in conversation and debate or where they can gather to play cards, cribbage, scrabble, knit or bead with their friends. We have an Indigenous Programmer on site twice a week to assist guests who want to get in touch with their own culture, or better understand the culture of others. We provide opportunities for schools to become involved in service through engaging them in a poverty simulation and participate in the drop-in by serving our guests a meal, conversing with them or playing a game together. We provide mentor-ship opportunities for young people wanting to get experience working in a non-profit, and provide a practicum placement for students pursuing a career in studying, occupational therapy, criminal justice, sociology. Oak Table also provides volunteer opportunities for new immigrants wanting to practice their English and obtain work skills when they are new to the country. We also provide a way for our guests to "give back" once they feel able to do so by providing support to them in finding a role within the drop-in. We also provide a placement to an agency supporting individuals living with intellectual disabilities. By supporting Oak Table, you can take some practical action and know you are not powerless in the face of great need. You can know that your support can change someone’s life. By supporting Oak Table, you can be that security net that shows love to the under loved. When something difficult or catastrophic happens in our lives, we turn to our friends and family for support and strength. Difficult times fall on all of us….an unexpected death, an accident, a health crisis, a job loss, a relationship breakdown, an addiction. When these things happen to us we have people who can help us through these times of crisis. Sometimes, that safety net is the only difference between needing or not needing the services of a place like Oak Table. Life circumstances and a safety net. Imagine if you didn’t have those people to help you; imagine if you didn’t have the intellect, the monetary resources, the mental fortitude or the strength to deal with a crisis. Most guests of the Oak table don’t, and that is where you can help….you can help create a safety net for those who don’t have one of their own. Through the years Oak Table has been there for thousands of people. Here are some stories from recent months: On a Thursday a few weeks ago Frances was the first one in line at the Oak Table. He wasn’t there to eat…..he couldn’t. He wanted to talk. He came to share his shock and grief because his brother was stabbed to death the night before. A 37 year old woman was charged with second degree murder. Frances needed someone to listen to him while he tried to come to terms with this horrible reality. He needed somewhere to cry; someone to give him a hug; to feel loved. He needed somewhere off the street where he could garner his strength before going to find his sister to tell her about their brother. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he shook his head in disbelief saying, “he’s gone, he’s gone”. Oak Table is where Frances comes for support. This week a guest came to the Oak Table in obvious distress. Sobbing, she shared her son committed suicide on the weekend. She found him in his closet and couldn’t get the picture of that scene out of her head. She needed a listening and empathetic ear; somewhere she felt safe to share her grief and despair. She needed some bus tickets to go and make funeral arrangements for her son. Can you imagine sitting on a public bus alone, with feelings of grief so fresh? Oak Table is where Jane comes in her distress. A new person showed up at Oak Table a few months ago before drop in hours began. Severely depressed, she was finding it difficult to get the help she needed. Hearing problems added to her frustration and her inability to be heard. Our relationship with the Primary Care Clinic allowed us to help her in a practical way. We utilized our relationship to get her application processed and an intake appointment set up. We met with the Manager of the Clinic and developed a plan. We helped the guest fill out her paperwork and delivered it to the Clinic. An Oak Table volunteer familiar with the Health Care system accompanied her to several appointments. A month ago she ventured into Oak Table with her grandson to participated in the Art Program. Since then, she has started volunteering once a week because she wants to give back, and is grateful for the help she received. Oak Table is where she came, depressed and frustrated. A guest needed heart surgery. He was scared to have it, and scared not to. He had a new grandson out of province he wanted to see and his only chance to do that was to go for the surgery. He asked if we would be his emergency contact because there was no one else he could ask. He had his surgery, and he had a steady stream of visitors while recuperating in the hospital. He knew, and the hospital staff also knew there were people in his life that cared about him. Oak Table was the first place he came when he was well enough to get outside. He came to Oak Table in time of illness. Another of our guests recently suffered a stroke. Visits broke up the isolation she felt while hospitalized. Now that she is in a rehab facility getting the therapy she needs to walk and talk and move freely again those gestures mean so much to her. We provide her partner with bus tickets so he can visit her. We take her fruit, flowers, underwear, socks, and slippers – the very things a loved one would provide for us if we were hospitalized, but are so far out of reach for her partner to get for her. Oak Table is where she looks for support during recovery. • Oak Table is where people come in their grief • Oak Table is where people come during times of trouble • Oak Table is where people come when they are ill • Oak Table is where people come after a diagnosis of cancer • Oak Table is where homeless people come when they are beaten up and their backpack with all their earthly goods are stolen When you support the Oak Table, you have the privilege of providing this kind of help. You receive the gift and privilege of hearing their stories; to catch a glimpse of their resilience; to pick them up when life beats them down. When you support the Oak Table you provide our guests with a place that becomes their living room; where they can engage in conversation, where they can play cards, scrabble, knit or bead with their friends. You provide a place they can find acceptance without judgement. We need your support to help us continue providing those 22,200 meals and the services that go along with them. We need support to pay our rent; provide our guests with internet, newspapers, magazines, computer access and programs; art supplies, haircuts, listeners, staff support as well as gloves, mitts scarves, warm clothing, blankets, hygiene items, bus tickets and more. Give because you are able Give because you are grateful Give because you want to leave this world a little better than when you found it. Give because you want to make a difference – a life changing difference for so many As Margaret Mead said…. “Never believe that a few caring people can’t change the world…. For indeed, that’s all who ever have…”