You know when Pam Urry has arrived at Hope House! Her presence is big, her laugh is infectious, and people love to be around her!

She has an incredible story to share, one that begins in a very dark place. But like most tales that are born in the dark, it leads to a lighter, brighter path and we at Hope house are so honoured to have been there to walk it beside her, and continue to do so, in a mutually beneficial relationship of sharing and caring.

Ame Papatsie is a resident artist here at Hope House. Always a friendly face, Ame can often be found creating art with other community members or peacefully rocking babies in his arms while their parents shop or take a break to socialize. 

Ame was born and raised in a little community call Pangnirtung on Baffin Island in Nunavut.  Everybody up north knows him by his Inuit name, Siqiniq, but down here it’s Ame. Ame’s name comes with a story.

There are times when someone shares a story about their struggles, and how they overcame these struggles that just warms your heart.

Yvette has been a community member here at Hope House for over 5 years, and is someone who has turned her life around – she has gone from living on the streets to flourishing in her life – but her story isn’t done yet, in fact, it’s just really beginning.

“Angela has a deep wisdom about her. One of the things about Angela is her relationships. She has a long-time friendship with her ex, and it’s a beautiful friendship. I think it takes a deep wisdom and a deep kind of caring to see a relationship go through ups and downs, that break and reform in a new way. So I think that’s a real strength that not a lot of people have”.

“At age 5, I was diagnosed with cancer”, signs Nathan to his friend and interpreter, Melissa. Melissa pays apt attention to Nathan, listening to his story then repeats it back to me. She then carefully watches my lips as I ask her the next question, “How is his health now?”

In 1995 he was given a full blood transfusion and things started to get better. He clearly remembers being deemed cancer free on July 3rd, 1995.

My brother Sean brought me to Hope House. I was trying to make volunteering at Women In Crisis work for me, but it was a bit awkward because of my connections there. Sean suggested that volunteering at Hope House might be a better fit for me, and he was right! I’m on ODSP, and I’ve needed to use emergency food services to make ends meet on many occasions, so the work Hope House does really resonated with me.

In the Media:

• CTV 09/15/2023 https://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/family-friendly-event-in-guelph-aims-to-bring-hope-to-the-streets-1.6563882
• Guelph Mercury 09/12/2023 https://www.guelphmercury.com/news/we-re-really-excited-for-hope-house-guelphs-hope-in-the-street-event/article_5b39a2cc-4932-5a58-85e3-bfbb8aa18531.html
• Guelph Mercury 09/11/2023 https://www.guelphmercury.com/opinion/try-the-tasty-pad-thai-and-more-at-divine-family-restaurant-in-guelph/article_ecfcf44e-5422-5a2d-bfc7-737100f2d2c7.html
• Guelph Today 08/11/2023 https://www.guelphtoday.com/local-news/hope-in-the-street-growing-for-year-three-7395097
• Guelph Today 07/05/2023 https://www.guelphtoday.com/lets-eat/hope-house-builds-community-and-confidence-with-food-skills-classes-7201878
• CBC News 06/03/2023 – https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/guelph-hope-house-the-better-food-co-demand-for-help-up-1.6861924
• Guelph Today 08/07/2022 – Storm collects over 180 backpacks for Hope House
• Guelph Today 06/21/2022 – Downtown drop-ins, food programs see sharp increase in demand
• Guelph Today 05/25/2022 – Better Food Co. seeks volunteers to help grow 15,000 lbs of food
• Guelph Today 04/13/2022 – Hope House receives $31,400 grant to assist with delivery or programs and services
• Guelph Today 04/10/2022 – Local Indigenous history lesson comes to Guelph
• Guelph Today 02/22/2022 – https://www.guelphtoday.com/helpers/meet-parm-one-of-hope-houses-successful-participants-in-the-new-ease-into-work-program-5050853
• Guelph Today 01/31/2022 – https://www.guelphtoday.com/following-up/orpha-completes-her-100-walks-for-charity-just-before-her-100th-birthday-8-photos-5009384
• Guelph Today 10/19/2021 –U of G students pull together to raise over $12,000 for HOPE House
• Guelph Mercury Tribune 10/03/2021 – It gives me incentive’: Guelph woman uses milestone birthday to help people in need
• Guelph Today 09/20/2021 – Soon to turn 100, local woman embarks on 100 walks for charity
• Guelph Today 06/29/2021 – Group of giving Guelphites donate $50,000 to Hope House campaign
• Guelph Today 03/25/2021 – Meet Guelph’s Scrapgoat, who has raised over $130K for HOPE House
• Guelph Today 01/01/2021 – Millions in funding announced for Guelph YMCA, Elora Arena and HOPE House