by David Burrows
For more than 10 years, St. Olave's has been feeding the homeless in downtown Toronto. It all started in November of 1996, just after I became rector at St. Olave's. Graydon McArthur put me in touch with Danny Ross (whom he knew through the Lion's Club). Danny was operating Hunger Patrol from Monday to Friday and I became one of his regular volunteers. At the end of that year (Spring 1997), Danny asked me to take over the Hunger Patrol. I said that I would but could only do it one night per week. I chose Saturday.
Thus, in the the fall of 1997 St. Olave's Hunger Patrol was born. At first we worked out of the back of my old car---not a very satisfactory arrangement---and then for a while the Church rented a van on the weekends. Finally, we decided that a leased van would be a better deal.
From the beginning, Hunger Patrol has involved members of our congregation of all ages. Evelyn Milligan signed on as the Treasurer and continues to keep our account in check. Those who enjoy working in the kitchen still make soup every Saturday. Others wishing to get on the streets volunteer to drive around Saturday evening ladling out soup. We still get our bread, bagels, danishes and Chelsea buns from Bread and Roses on Bloor street in Bloor-West Village---their generosity over these years has been amazing.
St. Olave's soup is legendary on the street. "You can't get soup this good in a restaurant," I've often heard. Or, "I've been dreaming of the soup for three hours." Or, "I learned to cook in jail and this is GOOD soup." And many times I have heard, "My compliments to the chef."
We feed a large crowd at Spadina and College streets near the Scott Mission. One of the Hungar Patrol's virtues is dependability---if I say we'll be back on the first Saturday of October after our summer break, we WILL be there. We not only give out the food (soup, juice, bread) but also socks (very important!!!), sweaters, blankets, sleeping bags, etc. We cruise around downtown and see many sad cases---the younger ones age so quickly on the street, especially if alcohol and drugs are involved, which they usually are.
Hunger Patrol is not the solution---it is a band-aid cure at best. But for the moment we need to stop the bleeding. Part of the solution: a new Vagrancy Act. The right to die homeless and lonely on the street should NOT, repeat NOT, be a constitutional right.