FORGE Day 2 was practical and impactful. The first half of the Saturday morning was spent learning about Naloxone. Naloxone kits are used for people who overdose, and have saved many. Marty, who was teaching us about Naloxone, said that in July there were 135 deaths in BC associated with overdose. Overdosing is an ongoing public health concern, and since many of the people that NightShift serves are using, it was definitely useful to learn about.

Naloxone is an antidote for an opioid overdose, and does not work for a non-opioid overdose. Opioids are drugs that are used to manage pain, and they often slow the body down or cause sleepiness. The Naloxone kit contains gloves, alcohol prep wipes, 3 needles, and Naloxone. Our group practiced by injecting water into oranges, which was kind of fun, but scary at the same time imagining administering it to someone in real life. My hands were extremely shaky, and I was wondering if I would be capable of actually doing this if it came down to it. Then, a member of the group said something that changed my perspective. “Our moment of fear is so minimal compared to their moments of fear.” After that, I felt thankful that I had access to the tools to help someone in such a terrible situation.

The second half of our Saturday morning together was spent hearing from Trisha Baptie. Trisha shared her heart wrenching story of how growing up with an abusive father changed the trajectory of her life. Dropping out of school in grade 6, the only way she knew how to make money was through prostitution. So, this is what Trisha did over the course of many years. She had 5 children along the way. To support them, she would work during the night and be a mother to them during the day. After meeting a kind woman who worked with Trinity Western University one night while she was on the street, she built a relationship that ended up changing her life. This woman encouraged her to leave prostitution and orchestrate a better life and future for herself and her children. She gave Trisha an immense amount of support along the way. Now, Trisha works to empower women to live violence and exploitation free through her organization called EVE. She aims at decriminalizing people selling sex in hopes of protecting these women. When sharing about her job, she said that these women “honour me with giving me their story to keep. I share their truth to inform policy.”

Trisha’s work in informing policy around prostitution and sex trafficking left me awestruck. Considering she is a woman with grade 6 education and a past filled with abuse, she overcame all obstacles to get where she is today. I left FORGE day 2 feeling empowered and inspired, and I’m excited to see what the next two days will bring!

The other day, I went for coffee with one of the high school students from my youth group. Her name is Kiana, and she is the sweetest soul. As we were talking, she told me about her love for photography. If you know me, you know I am not the best with a camera. So when Kiana told me this, it caught my attention. She told me about how she went with her photography class to downtown Vancouver and took a few pictures of people. When she showed me these two pictures, I knew I needed to ask her if she could take some pictures for this blog.

These were exactly the type of pictures that I want to have. Ones that represent people as they are. I told Kiana about my blog and the type of pictures I dreamed of having, and asked her if she would want to partner with me. She thankfully said yes, and we made a plan to go to Whalley the next week.

On a sunny Tuesday afternoon, I picked up Kiana from school. We stopped at Mcdonalds to pick up some coffee for our friends in Whalley. When we arrived in Whalley, it was golden hour and the city looked beautiful. I parked my car, looked at Kiana and said “Are you ready?” “Yes!” she responded with a smile.

We walked across the street to find some people hanging outside of NightShift. There were about five or six people there. I offered them coffee and casually talked to them about their day. A young couple was doing drugs and began to put them away while I was talking to them. After giving them coffee and talking to them, I told them about what Kiana and I were doing. A few people let Kiana take pictures of them, but most politely declined. They seemed a bit suspicious of us and what we were doing, which is understandable. Despite that, I feel that we were able to connect with them. Here is a picture of an amazing guy who is doing his best to make a difference for addicts in Canada by working closely with organizations and sharing his personal story.

After we spoke with everyone there, we headed over to Surrey Central to see if we could speak with anyone there. We quickly met a man who claimed the area to be his spot, and said that everyone knew him. He wasn’t lying. In the 20-30 minutes we were there, many people stopped by to talk to him. We handed out the rest of our coffee and spoke with these people. They were kind and warm. A couple people let Kiana take their picture. One guy posed for her against a tree, it was awesome. These people were open to talking to Kiana and I. They were not scary, they were not mean. They had found a community with each other in Surrey Central. I am thankful they let us have a window into that community, even if it was only for half an hour. Here is a picture of the man who posed.

I am so grateful to have partnered with Kiana for my blog! She is an incredible photographer at such a young age. She captures people authentically. More pictures to come throughout my blog! In the meantime, follow her instagram here.

My last interview was with MaryAnne, the founder of NightShift. MaryAnne represents the heart, mind, and soul of the organization. During a frightening winter storm in 2004, MaryAnne was overwhelmed with the thought of people without homes having nowhere to sleep. She drove out to Surrey in the middle of the night, where she served sandwiches and kept watch over everyone in a small church for the night. This was the birth of NightShift.

Previously a high end real estate marketer, MaryAnne made a drastic life change in starting NightShift. When I asked her why, she replied saying

“There was a shift in my heart. There was really no ‘us’ and ‘them.’ All of the people I talked to were dealing with pain and trauma. As someone who had had a significant amount of pain and trauma in my life, I decided to be vulnerable with them. My vulnerability encouraged their vulnerability, and I saw people with completely different lenses.”

MaryAnne’s mission statement, to love unconditionally and help each other find hope and purpose, came out of an arm wrestle with God, she said. She was struggling with the fact that the people she was helping on the streets were not changing. They were still using drugs, still without homes, and she felt she needed to do more. In that moment, she felt God say that all He asked her to do was love them. So, MaryAnne learned unconditional love through serving these people. To love others without expectations of change and no judgement; to love them exactly where they are.

When asked what her hope was for the future of vulnerable people in Surrey, MaryAnne responded that she wishes to do complex trauma training. From her experience and the people she has interacted with, she believes that 100% of these people have suffered abuse in some form. By educating these people and providing another way to deal with their trauma, NightShift can get to the root of the problem. MaryAnne dreams to bring people along the continuum of recovery so that she can place people in transitional housing to be stabilized. She acknowledges that in this, NightShift has a responsibility to “hold the hand of someone for the rest of their life.” Although dealing with people’s trauma and addictions is  extremely hard work, MaryAnne is willing to do it.

In taking this step of faith back in 2004, MaryAnne has seen great transformation in the community she serves. She is someone who sees these people for what they are – people with stories and struggles, just like you and I. In all of this, MaryAnne can’t separate her work from her faith in God. Through faith in Him, she is able to serve this community and trust in His plans. She says that “He is a God of the impossible,” and hopes for the vulnerable people in Surrey to experience His love just as she has.

I am so thankful I was able to hear MaryAnne pour out her beautiful heart for her city. She inspired me to love others without limits, and I am grateful to be volunteering with her organization! With that concludes the Interview series.