Joe

I grew up in Toronto, but lived in Vancouver most of my life. I drove long haul trucks for 31 years and ran a trucking company with my wife. I first heard about the Good Neighbours' Club in 1980, from a guy we hired to unload our trailers. Back then meals were a nickel!

When our company went under, my life changed completely. In Vancouver I started hanging out at a place called The Gathering Place, which was a resource centre run by the city. I had also developed some health issues, and when I got laid off I wanted to come home to Toronto to have my surgery. I had an apartment lined up, but when I got here I was a week too late, and couldn't get the apartment. The weather was good then, and I decided to camp out to save some cash. Unfortunately, I've now been living outdoors much longer than I expected.

I needed somewhere to relax during the day. I felt at home the very first day I came in here. I hadn't shaved, and I looked like a real mutt. I told Gary I didn't want him to take my membership card picture until I shaved, which got him and the whole club laughing. That put me at ease, and I knew I'd feel at home.

The Good Neighbours' Club was a godsend. Not only was I able to come in and play cards and be with people in the same boat, it helped to lift my spirits. I hated everyone on the street looking at me the way they did... this place made it a lot easier for me to cope. I decided that I wanted to do something to give back, so I've been helping out with loading and offloading the van and as an on call driver. Everyone's so happy when I help out, it's great to see their smiles when I offer a hand.

There are not enough of these places and this place isn't big enough. It's really nice that the governments are quick to give you money to sustain yourself, but there's no support beyond that. That's why a lot of people end up in the street; they didn't know which direction to go after that.

Who knows where everyone would be if they didn't have this place... not only is the Good Neighbours' Club a really nice drop-in centre, it helped me out quite a bit, getting all my marbles in one bag. I come in for showers and laundry, and I use the computers a lot to keep in touch with my family.

I'm working on housing with Emily. I've been really impressed – she's even called me when I haven't been at the club, and I've gotten messages from her after dinner time. She's agreed to work with me setting up meetings and come to them with me to help and make sure I understand everything. She's the right person to have in here helping with housing.

All these programs and events are coming up, which is great, and I think the club's just going to get a whole lot better.

 Joe, member and volunteer since 2008