Skip to main content

My Journey to Saint Joseph Street

I remember the first time I went back home after six years in Canada. It was quite something. It looked like the place had changed a lot. But it didn't. I changed. It was a strange feeling.

I had the same reaction last week when I went to 6 St Joseph street downtown Toronto. For over six months I have been to this place literally every Sunday. And every Sunday, it is the same quiet and clean place where everything is where it should be. I noticed though a number of inspirational quotes everywhere in the room.

What a surprise when I went there during the week! It was like I had never been there before. You know me well now. The best way to catch my attention is to give me free food lol. They sure did. This place is unbelievable.

Now you are asking yourselves: what the heck is he talking about? That is a good question.

I am speaking about 6 Saint Joseph House where Goal Achievers meetings are held. When I joined the group, they were meeting at this place, and I did not ask any question about it, I just knew that it was our place of meeting. When Paul and I took over Goal Achievers Canada, I thought maybe I should try to learn more about this place. I thought, why not pay them a visit? So I did.

Oh boy. The place was packed. There were activities going on everywhere. The lovely Darlene offered a tour of the place while explaining to me what they do. By the way, every Tuesday and Wednesday they offer free lunch (for this only reason you should check them out).

6 St. Joseph is a community that supports people who are taking a step up from livelihood challenges, while connecting them to a “home” and a community of people ready to help others. Many of its activities have the potential to serve as a model for outreach programs at other neighbourhood centres.

Located in downtown Toronto near Yonge & Wellesley St., 6 St Joseph House is a creative resource centre where everyone, no matter what their circumstances, has an opportunity to contribute their talents, feel a sense of belonging, and receive support from one another.

It is a place where positive life-change is a realizable goal, and where people of all backgrounds pitch in to lead the programs & activities. From the beginning, their goal has been to invite people from diverse backgrounds to work together and support those taking positive steps out of addiction, social isolation, panhandling, and homelessness.

Of all the things that they told me they did, do you know what part got my greatest attention? Well, it was the part where they told me that the centre functioned mainly because of people's donations. There is a such a positive and embracing energy you feel when there that it makes you want to be part of what's happening. I paid them a visit the next day, and David explained to me in details what they do. Guess what? They have other locations in the city as well.

Here is my shout out to you (yes you my beloved blog readers). I know you want to make a difference; I know some of you are even looking for a purpose in life. Why not starting by giving your time or even your money to a place that is worth it? 6 St. Joseph Street is the real deal. Check them out at www.6stjoseph.ca

Moral of the story? Do you want to make a difference in your community? Just visit 6 St. Joseph Street and you will get free food (only if you get there before me lol)

Always a pleasure.

Patrick
The Journeyman
patrick@goalachieverscanada.com

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

My Journey to my wedding

Where do I start? I don't really know. As I am waiting for my flight at Kigali airport, with tears in my eyes, I am thinking about the last few days. There are no words that can explain what I have experienced in this month of December 2010. As Phil Collins said, it's another day in paradise. The person who said that words are powerful was so right. It took a few words from my then girlfriend, now wife (are you kidding me!!!!), to start a series of events that led me to this moment. She just said: “Honey, this long distance thing is killing me”. Having been in a couple of long distance relationships, I knew what she meant. This time, it was different. I had to do something, otherwise, this relationship would end up like the other ones. I had promised myself to do whatever it took to make this one work. As I hung up the phone, I thought I had to move mountains. I had to find a way to meet her. Originally, my intention was to visit her in July 2011, however, this felt like a cent

My Journey to my meeting with Bob Proctor

He is a hero of mine, I have studied his material for years, I had met him once and at that time he even signed one of the books he gave to me. But, spending three hours in an intimate setting, hearing him calling my name, him talking to me from a few feet away was just a dream come true. Bob Proctor is simply a genius. He has been studying the laws of success for over fifty years, but he has a simple way of explaining things that I found myself saying “wow” all the time. I have listened to his audios, read his book and saw hundreds of his videos. It has come to the point where I can finish his sentences before he finishes them. But seeing him live telling his story is another thing. Call me crazy, but I just believe that I will end up working with him. I don't know how or when this is going to happen, but I know I will. It is with the same belief that I know I will one day meet Michael Jordan and Nelson Mandela (being with Pathe'O few weeks ago made me feel I am not that far

My Journey to a meeting with Gandhi

You must be thinking that I lost my mind when I say that I met Gandhi. Don't worry. I am doing fine. I met him only in a story that I heard. Do you want to hear it? I know you do. So I will tell the story Long time ago, there was a lady in India whose son was eating too much sugar. She tried so many times in vain to ask him to stop eating sugar. After a while, she thought that Gandhi could help. She took her son to Gandhi and begged him to tell him to stop eating sugar. He carefully listen to the lady, and then went: “Please come back in two weeks, I will be able to help you” Two weeks later, the lady came back to see Gandhi. The Mahatma looked in the young boy's eyes and told him: “Please stop eating too much sugar”. That was it. The lady could not believe it. “Do you mean I had to wait two weeks for you to ask my son to stop eating sugar” she said. “Why couldn't tell him in the first place?” Then, Gandhi simply said: “You see madam. Two weeks ago, I was still eating sugar