East side Easter

Open doors at The Door is Open

By CLEVELAND V. STORDY
Special to The B.C. Catholic

This Easter Sunday the door will open be open to more than a thousand of Vancouver’s hungry and homeless at The Door is Open on Cordova Street.

A private donor is collaborating with The Door is Open to provide the meal, which will be served indoors at the Catholic charity, 373 E. Cordova St., and will include beverages and dessert.

"It’s a real inspiration to see that private donors have seen the need in the downtown core and are doing something about it." Above all, "They ask for nothing," said Brother Timothy Macdonald, SA. Brother Tim, as he is known to most, is a Franciscan Friar of the Atonement who has been director of The Door is Open since 1994.

Private donors such as Global Gourmet Foods have been serving Vancouver’s most hungry at Easter and Christmas for the past eight years, feeding 1,500 of the city’s poor, homeless, and single-room tenants.

The Door is Open and other Catholic charity organizations such as the Franciscan Sisters of the Atonement accept it as their mandate to welcome the women and men of the downtown east side as human beings worthy of respect. "In sharing the Christian spirit, the joy that Easter brings is evident through the signs of gratitude and positive feelings in the faces of the many that are being helped," said one worker.

These organizations hope to lessen the social alienation of Vancouver’s less fortunate in an environment that will provide them with a good example, giving them a chance to improve their lives and lift themselves out of poverty.

Feeding and providing for the people of the downtown east side is by no means limited to two annual events. With the assistance of private donors, Catholic organizations including The Door is Open, Catholic Charities Men’s Hostel, and the Franciscan Sisters of the Atonement provide food, clothing, and a warm, safe environment. They also are able to provide useful information to ease the lives of the city’s homeless.

The Franciscan Sisters of the Atonement serve soup and sandwiches daily, except for Wednesdays and Sundays. "Approximately 400 people are served each day, with women making up about four per cent of that number," Sister Marianne Rohrer explained.

"As well, on the third Sunday of each month from September through April, a sit-down hot meal is served indoors to a population of 800 people."

The work done by these whole hearted individuals does not go unnoticed by their clientele. John Albert, a regular at the food line, expressed a deep appreciation for the work of these Catholic charities. "If it were not for the charities, life on the east end would be unbearable and far more desolate," he said.