Mission and History
Joe Fiorito: Every man has a story at the Good Neighbours' Club in the Toronto Star
Day of the Homeless: Paul Croutch Memorial
This year, the Annual Day of the Homeless will take place on August 31st, 2010. Stay tuned for more information.
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Thank you for making the first Annual Day of the Homeless:
Paul Croutch Memorial such a beautiful event!
Paul Croutch, memorialized at the Good Neighbours' Club on August 25, 2009
On Tuesday 25 August 2009, citizens of the City of Toronto joined the members of the Good Neighbours' Club in remembering Paul Croutch. Paul was a member of the Good Neighbours' Club who was beaten one night of in August 2005 in Moss Park in downtown Toronto resulting in his death. We gathered to ensure that the experience of Paul and that of many other older men living in poverty or on the streets of Toronto will never be forgotten.
Our Distinguished Speakers
The event began with a speech by one of our members, Ray May, who spoke eloquently about his relationship with Paul. Ray delivers lunches to our shut-in members and got to know Paul when he delivered him meals and brought him clothes to the bench where he slept.
Bruno Scorsone, our Executive Director, described what we do here at the club for men like Paul, and Charles Hill, the chair of our board, gave a brief outline of Paul's life including his tenure as a respected journalist based out of Dawson Creek.
Roger Petersen, our distinguished host, welcoming
Ray May and
Ed Snook onto the stage to unveil the plaque for Paul
Croutch.
A touching message from the former Lieutenant Governor, the Honourable James Bartleman, a longtime supporter of the Good Neighbours' Club and a strong advocate for people with issues of mental health, was read by the Chief of Staff and private secretary to the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Nanda Casucci-Byrne.
Insightful comments regarding the status of homeless older men in downtown Toronto were offered by Gerard Kennedy, MP in the Parkdale-High Park riding of Toronto, Dan McTeague, MP in the Pickering-Scarborough East riding and City Councillor Paula Fletcher who was representing Mayor Miller. We were greatly moved by the passion that you all expressed for this vulnerable and marginalized segment of Toronto's population and the trials they face on a daily basis.
Inspiring speeches on the plight of homeless people
like Paul were made by MPs Dan
McTeague and Gerard Kennedy at the
Paul Croutch Memorial, seen here with Alex Zsager,
who is member,
staff and volunteer extraordinaire at the Good Neighbours' Club.
The ceremony itself was introduced by the heartfelt words of two men who knew Paul quite well. Dion Oxford, Executive Director of the Salvation Army Gateway, expressed his deep regret at Paul's death whom he had gotten to know personally over the years that Paul spent with them at the Salvation Army.
His sentiments were followed up by honest eloquence of Stephen Morrissey, Team Leader of the Employment Resources Services at the Fred Victor Mission, who had also gotten to know Paul over the years that he spent on the street. Thank you gentleman both, for your kind contribution to this event and to the hard work that you do to help people like Paul every day.
Dion Oxford, Executive Director of the Salvation
Army Gateway remembered a friend
at the Paul Croutch Memorial, a
moving speech told from the heart.
Thank you also to Edmund Snook, one of the members who respectfully watched over Paul's ashes, unveiled the plaque along with Ray May and read off the names of those of our members who died in the past year. And, of course, a huge thank you to the brilliant job done by Roger Petersen, weekend anchor of City TV, who not only hosted the Memorial with grace and ease, but who also featured the event in a story aired on the 6 o'clock news on August 25th.
Many people came out to remember Paul Croutch, including representatives of the Moss Park Armoury visible in the back row, who honoured Paul with a beautiful wreath laid below his ashes.
We would also like to thank Lt. Col. Fotheringham and the 32 brigade of the Moss Park Armoury who laid a wreath in memory of Paul Croutch. We were excited to have the Moss Park Armoury representatives, who have done much in the community by providing beds for the homeless in the winter, for their participation in the ceremony. The Good Neighbours' Club was pleased to present the Armoury with a Friends of the Good Neighbours' Club certificate, a symbol of our continued partnership to serve downtown Toronto's poor.
Musical Entertainment
The event was opened with the musical talent of Maria Kasstan who puts on a music workshop at the Good Neighbours' Club every Tuesday and who has procured the donations of musical instruments to the club as well. She was followed by Michael St. Denis, a member of the Good Neighbours' Club and a very talented busker in downtown Toronto, who assists Maria at the workshop.
The considerably talented Maria Kasstan played a
song memory of Paul Croutch.
Maria hosts a Music Workshop every
Tuesday at the Good Neighbours' Club.
Another one of our members, Chris Real, remembered Paul and men in situations like him by providing us with his rendition of a song called 'Hard Times,' recounting the hardships of living streets.
We were also grateful for the participation of the Salvation Army Band who did a wonderful job creating the respectful and solemn ambiance that marked the ceremony itself. This dignified atmosphere was made even more potent by Police Constable Bill Shikitani, whose bagpipes elegantly marked the loss felt by the community that Paul's death incurred.
We extend a big thank you to the Salvation Army
Band! Their presence, and talent, added
the perfect flavour to the
mood, making the day one of reflection and also one of possibility.
And, of course, we cannot forget the musical styling of the Raging Grannies who have worked with the Good Neighbours' Club in the past, providing musical entertainment at our AGM and our Volunteer Appreciation. Their passion and humour are always a welcome addition to any Good Neighbours' Club event. The memorial was no exception.
The Media!
The Paul Croutch Memorial was undoubtedly an important
event for the city of Toronto.
To read articles or to experience
other media coverage of the day follow the links below:
August 24th, 2009
August 25th 2009
August 26th 2009
You can watch the Star coverage of the Paul Croutch Memorial here or you can listen to an interview with our Coordinator of Development and Volunteer Services, Kelly Downs, on Metro Morning the day after the memorial by clicking here, if you have trouble with this you can click here and search for "Remembering Paul Croutch" which was aired on August 26th, 2009.
And THANK YOU to our volunteers and sponsors!
This beautiful event would never have happened if it wasn't for the help and dedications of volunteers and sponsors!
A delicious meal was prepared and served by our
magnificent chef, Lawrence Dipchand who
never fails to impress, and
his incredible band of volunteers. Here we see a little of Lea Ellen
on
the left, Tom Venton and Raymond Ray. Thank you all for you hard work!
This year, we would like to thank the following people and organizations for making this event such an unparalleled success:
Thank you to Susan McLennan and Babbleon Communications for the fantastic job they did in bringing the media to our doorstop for this important event!
Thank you to Ontario Staging Limited for donating to us a stage for the event!
Thank you to Metro Grocery for donating to us all the burgers, bottled water and pop for our event, particularly our Good Neighbour-hood Metro at 89 Gould Street:
Thank you to Home Depot at 825 Caledonia Road for the donation of flowers and plants for the event and for around the club.
Thank you to Denys Ramsahoye and Sentinel Security Inc. for providing us with
security for the event.
Also, a big thank you to the Salvation Army, particularly Rob Hardy of Harbour Light and Pamela Loveless, for lending us the PA System and the podium and arranging for the Salvation Army Band to participate in the memorial. Thank you!
We would also like to thank the following volunteers for their significant contributions:
Bob Sequin, who created the banner
Lawrence
Dipchand, our chef who catered the whole event
Lawrence's band of merry and fabulous volunteers, notably,
Lea Ellen Carter
Peter Brown
Tom
Venton
Raymond Ray
Trevor Downs, who courageously wrangled the crowds at
the registration table
Alex Zsager,
finder-and-fixer-of-all-things extraordinaire
John O'Leary, our
photographic director and videographer
Patricia O'Connor and
B'ley Blemur, our photographers
Adrienne McLennan
Helen
Hawkins
Karie ann Benham
Peter Murchison
Jim Hubel
And
all of the members of the Good Neighbours' Club who wanted to see Paul
honoured and who helped make that dream become a reality: we thank you!
