Firehall Fest a Smashing Sunfilled Success - Old Ottawa South

Page 38 The OSCAR - OUR 36 th YEAR JUL/AUG 2008
ABBOTSFORD HOUSE
By Pat Goyeche
Alexander Mutchmor built “a
mansion fair to temp the gaze”
when he built Abbotsford
House in 1872. He was a pioneer and
business man whose name remains
engrained in our community with
Mutchmor Public School. The name
Abbotsford has stuck as the use of the
house has changed over the years. It
was originally named Abbotsford after
Sir Walter Scott’s home in Scotland by
Muchmor himself. Mutchmor sold it to
the then Mayor of Ottawa only ten years
after he built it. Mr. MacIntosh lived
in it for several years and then sold it
to a group of philanthropic Protestants
who had formed a shelter in 1886 but
needed a larger location. It sold in
1889 for $9,000. In 1889 Abbotsford
became the Protestant Home for the
Aged. From 1889 to 1974 it was a
shelter for retired men who had no
means to care for themselves and no
family to help support them. Charity
changed over time and government
became involved but many of the local
churches came together again in the
By Jeff Morrison
It is mid-afternoon on a Thursday
and Sarah Brown is at her desk,
chatting with a man who appears
to be in his mid to late 50s. They
discuss his efforts to quit smoking
and then the talk turns to his drug
and alcohol use. Before he gets up to
leave he makes a joke about an old Dr.
Hook song involving throwing drugs
out the window.
At 30 Sarah probably hasn’t
heard the song—she may not
know who Dr. Hook is – but as a
harm reduction worker at with the
Centretown Community Health
Centre she is intimately familiar with
the daily struggles of people living
Door Were Wide Open At Abbotsford!
early 70’s to build a retirement home
for both men and women beside the
house; this became The Glebe Centre
Inc. Abbotsford in 1974 transformed
into a Seniors Recreational Drop-in-
Centre. It continues in this function as
well as housing a Day Away program
and Community Outreach services for
seniors.
We celebrated the heritage of
Abbotsford House on June 7 th and 8 th by
opening our doors as part of Doors Open
Ottawa. The house was designated
an official heritage sight in 1984.
Volunteers donned period costumes;
we served cream scones with stewed
rhubarb and strawberries with cream
and showed off our newly decorated
dining room and lounge, which house
three of the original marble mantels.
If you missed the event, you are
welcome to drop by anytime during
regular business hours Monday to
Friday. It is a dynamic centre meeting
the needs of our 50+ community who
live independently throughout Ottawa
but come to Abbotsford for recreation,
socializing, services and just plain fun!
Abbotsford House is part of the
with addictions in Ottawa’s inner
city. Before he leaves the man hands
in a plastic container filled with used
syringes and she gives him a fresh
supply of needles, alcohol swabs,
packets of vitamin C and sterile
water.
Sarah is a veteran of this work.
For seven years she has worked with
street involved people, doing needle
exchange and addictions counseling.
For her, harm reduction is more
than just a job title. Over the years
she has come to know and respect
many of the people she serves, and
if she can help them avoid HIV or
Hepatitis C, she is happy to do it.
“I really value the connection and
the rapport that I establish with the
people I see here. People have such
Glebe Centre Inc., “Rooted in the past, reaching for the future”.
Connecting With Drug Users Reduces Harm
Sarah Brown, (right) helps with
Bev Armstrong, a Centretown citizen
during a community needle clean up
on Saturday May 24th
false perceptions about drug users.”
And while Sarah’s first priority is to
reduce harm to the users themselves,
she is also aware that her efforts are
helping to reduce the harm that drug
use causes to society at large. Health
care for someone with HIV can
cost taxpayers millions. Most of the
people she sees bring in their used
needles or deposit them in the black
bin outside the door to the centre. In
fact between the black box and the
needles brought into the centre, more
needles are collected than are handed
out – reducing the hazard of discarded
needles in the community.
Sarah believes that there are other
advantages to her personal contact
with users. “Part of my work involves
teaching and modeling responsible
behaviour. People who are regular
users of this service do become more
responsible – particularly where safe
disposal of used needles is concerned.”
Regular contact with a respectful,
non-judgmental, sympathetic listener
can also be a powerful motivator for
people who need some encouragement
to change their behaviour.
Sarah describes one young woman
who had been using for more than
a decade. One day she announced
that she could not go on with the life
she was living. So far, with Sarah’s
encouragement and support, she has
reduced her drug use by half.
Just before closing time at 4:00
p.m. another man comes into the
needle exchange room. It is his first
visit, and he is a bit wary. This time
there is no chit-chat. Sarah moves
efficiently asking what he needs while
she assembles his package – needles,
alcohol swabs, vitamin C, five crack
pipe stems. Before he leaves she
offers him a fresh pear. He takes
two, and for the first time since he
enters the room, he cracks a smile.
Addiction carries a heavy stigma. To
be treated with respect and courtesy
is a welcome relief. Chances are he
will be back.