The sun slowly rises over the tops of the downtown towers, colours spearing from the heavens as the city begins to wake. As God shines down, the front doors of Street Level open and those who have slept outside shuffle forward to the doors where they know they will be welcome, where they are missed if they don’t show up, where they know that unconditional caring and empathy await. Those who are heading to work but need razors, a washroom or just a morning greeting soon begin to enter, knowing that they will work a full day and still not have enough to pay the exorbitant rents that Calgary demands.
The staff on Street Level never know what the city will bring them. There may be a fight on the corner. A guest who has been using the supports of The Mustard Seed for years may share the story of one of their friends dying on the streets last night, and the staff and guest mourn together for a friend who has been lost. The busses arrive from our shelter bringing guests back downtown so that they can begin their days: working, connecting to resources, surviving.
The stories are as diverse and unique as each individual who enters the doors of The Mustard Seed downtown. The needs that brings these people to the doors are not just met through the provision of food, emergency services and programming but through relationships, respect and the knowledge that whatever this day holds for those without housing in Calgary and for those living in poverty, there is someone out there who cares, there is a safe place to be and they know in their hearts that, when the time is right, hope will turn into reality.
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