At the last community dinner, I sat with a big-hearted man who has lost his wife and children twice — first through separation, and again through the long, heavy involvement of the criminal justice system. His grief isn’t simple. It comes in layers, folded over time. I didn’t come to fix his story. I cameContinue reading “Walking With a Story”
Built by Being Known
This kitchen wasn’t built through advertising, but through relationship. Over time, trust with shelters and services became a pathway that kept people coming — not as clients, but as neighbours. In the space between friendship and institution, people eat, stories move, and welcome keeps growing.
Protective Action vs. Control: A Reflection on Risk, Presence, and Power
Naming risk is not the same as exercising power. Over years of working in community spaces and shared tables, I’ve learned that protective action becomes relational only when it’s grounded in respect, presence, and dignity — not control.
Finding Roots in Shared Tables
Visiting soup kitchens didn’t just show me how shared spaces function — it shaped who I became. Through presence, relationship, and learning the quiet work of coordination, those early experiences gave me roots that still inform how I hold community today.
Seeing the Work: A Reflection on Relational Practice
Relational work becomes real when people embody care and attention — not through training, but through instinctive presence. In shared community spaces, this kind of coordination transforms frameworks into hospitable, dignified practice.
