Sudbury's Samaritan Centre prepares special holiday event for clients

Tuesday is Christmas Eve and it's a special day at the Samaritan Centre in downtown Sudbury. 

Lisa Long is the executive director of the Samaritan Centre, which includes the Elgin Street Mission, the Blue Door Soup Kitchen and the Corner Clinic.

Long says they've been collecting donations from local organizations since September, and that will allow them to provide between 300 and 400 of their clients with a gift during a special Christmas event tomorrow.

The presents will be handed out during a Christmas lunch served at the Blue Door Soup Kitchen. 

"I hope it'll be meaningful," Long said. "No strings attached — here's a gift. We love you. Merry Christmas."

Celebrating with 'community'

The Christmas event is a way to celebrate the community of people at the Samaritan Centre, the clients, the staff and the volunteers.

Long says the clients are like family, and many don't have any other community of support around them during the holidays.

"I just picked my daughter up from the airport. She's not coming home because of Christmas presents. She's coming home because we're her community, we're her tribe, We're her family," she said.

"That's my take on the Samaritan Centre. We're community for people and so we're pleased to be open every single day of the year."

Long says each one of the clients they try to help has a story and being together as a community is an opportunity to hear each others stories.

"When you sit around the table and share a meal it's pretty special," Long said. "When you're sharing a meal together it's an opportunity to hear one another's stories. There's a mutual sharing of stories, of coming together."

Marc Paris is one of the staff at the Blue Door Soup Kitchen who will be doing the cooking for the Christmas meal. The chef says when it comes to holidays, the Samaritan Centre tries to do something special.

"We usually tend to theme something out when it comes to holidays . . . so for Christmas, we'll do a turkey dinner spread," he said. 

'It's like a Home without a Home'

James Blair Morton Simpson has been coming to the Samaritan Centre since July. He says he mainly comes for the food served by the Elgin Street Mission and the Blue Door Soup Kitchen. Up until a few weeks ago he was sleeping outside, but now sleeps at the local shelter, although he says he prefers to stay at the mission when there is an Extreme Cole Weather Alert.

James had been in Barrie until the summer when he came to Sudbury to visit a friend and then stayed here because he doesn't have a home anywhere.

"It's disenchanting to not have a home when you're used to it," James said. "It's difficult, but you know, the services here...it's like a home without a home."

Simpson added that he appreciates the community of people that he finds at the Samaritan Centre.