What London Can Be

Over the past several months while we have all been confined to home, many of us have listened to the news on several platforms giving us the news of the day internationally, nationally, and local news.  As a member of the London Affordable Housing Foundation, one storyline that I have been following with great interest is the impact the pandemic has had on housing.  We know some people who have been able to save and have money to enter a housing market whose prices are rising weekly. However, a story not as readily covered is the impact the pandemic has had on those who have lost jobs, who work for very low wages yet in markets that are identified as essential, and who have lost housing, whose rents are already high, or who are homeless.  Solutions seem elusive or seem to take an endless about of time.

However, I am buoyed by the commitment of the not-for-profit housing providers in the city.  Six of these groups have come together to lay out a plan for mixed housing on part of the lands of the former Victoria Hospital.  The plan is called Vision SoHo Alliance.  As it takes shape, the plan will include over 350 affordable units (i.e. below-market rents for that area).  We were called together by the London Community Foundation to consider how we could collaborate to address the critical housing need in London. Click here to listen to a podcast discussion by Sylvia Harris and Greg Playford describes our plan and our hope to make a difference:

https://www.lcf.on.ca/whatlondoncanbe/2021/3/22/episode-3-sylvia-harris-amp-greg-playford

The podcast is longer than a few minutes, but it is worth the listen.  Join us in supporting this unique and collaborative effort, unique in Canada.

Joan Atkinson, London Affordable Housing Foundation - Part of Vision SoHo.

Click here to read more about the Vision SoHo Alliance.

Concept art for the proposed development on the vacant Old Victoria Hospital lands.

Summertime

“Summertime and the livin’ is easy,”, croons Ella Fitzgerald from the 1934 opera, “Porgy and Bess”.  As July fades into August, this easy living is on my mind as holidays and the open road beckons me from the routine and tedium of everyday living.  As part of my personal summer renewal, I availed myself of the freedom and opportunity to visit family and friends after the long COVID siege.  Soon, I found myself packed and making my way north down the highways and byways to visit my sister and brother-in-law as well as planning a side trip to spend a little time with a dear friend.

My sister and brother-in-law’s home is always a haven of peace and serenity. We enjoyed tasty meals, relaxing days, and leisurely walks along the Saugeen River with its lush flora and fauna.  On our Saturday morning outing, we spied a magnificent blue heron with its long legs planted firmly in the shallow water, searching to surprise an unsuspecting fish.

On Saturday evening, stretched yoga-style on the living room floor, I felt on my back the silent, warm paws of gorgeous Sparky, the resident feline.  After a few steps, she stretched her purring self along the entire length of my back where she rested, and finally rolled to a waiting mat where she curled up and drifted off to sleep.  There, is a cat that knows how to relax.

Too soon, on Sunday afternoon I headed home after a wonderful summer visit. En route, I stopped to reconnect with a special friend from my teenage years. Linda and her husband Joe were waiting to greet me with open arms and a warm welcome.  What could be more refreshing than sitting under the shade of gracious maple trees sipping iced tea and eating oatmeal cookies? 

Soon their daughters arrived with children in tow to enjoy a swim in their beautiful backyard pool.  As we greeted each other and chatted, the young women were awed to realize that their mother and I had been friends for almost 60 years.  Even I was taken aback that six decades of caring and sharing had passed so quickly.

Driving home, I hummed a little ditty I had learned in elementary school: “Make new friends but keep the old; one is silver and the other is gold.”  As the sun set on my weekend excursion, I thanked God for peaceful summer spaces, the gift of family, and the treasure of faithful friends.

-Sister Jean Moylan, csj | Sister Jean has been a Sister of St. Joseph for 54 years.

““Make new friends but keep the old; one is silver and the other is gold.””

— old folk song

a Cree poem

With so much in our news these days related to Indigenous people, this little Cree poem brings an insightful story to our attention.  The brief, creative style, sites a challenge we all might share. A beautiful poem to share with friends!

- Sister Patricia St. Louis csj

The truth is

I have mud on my hands

from digging roots

The truth is

I brought them to you

It is the truth

I worked to get them

And complained

while digging them up

The truth is

Once I got back here

And saw your face

It didn’t matter,

that work

-          Cree poem.

The Choice - A Book Review

The Choice was acclaimed a Best Seller by the New York Times and came to me highly recommended.  Dr Edith Eger is the 90-year author and an internationally known psychologist.

It begins with her Hungarian Jewish family living in an active neighbourhood and then eventually the rumblings of war, the Nazis, restrictions imposed, and eventually the movement of family and neighbours to Auschwitz in the cattle car of a crowded train.  At arrival into the camp separation of parents and children occurs.  Edith, a teenager excelling in ballet and gymnastics is allowed to remain with her sister while her dear Mom and Dad are separated and faced immediate death.  

“Hope is the boldest act of imagination I know”

— Edith Eva Eger

Edith and her sister are courageous survivors of horrific trauma. However, throughout their years of concentration, they maintained that hope was essential.  Hope for another day urged them on each day.  “Hope is the boldest act of imagination I know,” Edith writes.  In 1945, the prisoners in the camp are liberated by the American soldiers.  Edith is discovered among the dying prisoners. In her study and work as a psychologist, Edith discovers a valuable way to use her personal traumatic, experiences to assist others: 

“Our painful experiences aren’t a liability, they are a gift.”

 -Sister Mabel St. Louis, csj

““Change is about interrupting the habits and patterns that no longer serve us” ”