Published on October 1, 2020  http://ufvcascade.ca/community-spotlight-sardis-doorway/ufvcascade.ca/community-spotlight-sardis-doorway/
By Danaye Reinhard

Covid-19 was out there but it didn’t seem like a big threat as we planned to reopen in a few weeks. 

When Spring Break was extended ~ we encouraged our families to use the time at home to complete some of the tasks they didn’t usually have the time to do: clean out the closet, organize the toys or match all the lids to containers in the Tupperware drawer. 

Then everything changed again and it became clear that we would not be all together again before the end of our program year in June. 

We knew that the summer would be so long for our participants.

           How could we encourage them in a time when everyone is being told to stay apart and stay          home in order to stay safe?  What could we say to them knowing that home is often lonely, isolating and sometimes not a safe place? 

With all this in mind, we had to make a new plan for Sardis Doorway. 

Weekly video workshops provided the women with an opportunity to continue learning the Respectful Futures curriculum we had been working on as well as introduced new topics on 'how to survive being isolated with young children' and 'how to parent through these crazy times'.
 
Fresh and meat hampers continued to the end of our program year and then were extended through the summer introducing the 'Cooking Class Hampers'. 

Support workers connected with each mom through text, phone or Facebook every week and encouraged them to speak with our counselor or reach out to us if they ever needed to chat. 

As the usual program year was coming to an end in June, we knew that we couldn’t take a summer break ~ After all, we are all in this together.
  
With Covid-19 Relief grants from the Vancouver Foundation, Canadian Women’s Foundation, Mazon Canada, Mennonite Disaster Services and the VanCity Community Connections Fund, we were able to continue to offer support through intentional connection and food hampers all summer. 

We were able to facilitate a small When Love Hurts group for women who have experienced abuse and continue a Home Improvement group that had started before everything was shut down. (Home Improvement is a facilitated group for men who recognize that they have hurt women with their words or actions and are willing to change) www.whenlovehurts.ca

We added an outreach worker to connect with those who were struggling or needed extra support and encouragement during this time. 

                All of this was done in an effort to build on the relationships that we already had.
 
And now here we are on September 2nd with no clear picture as to what the fall will look like. 

     Again we are asking: how do we serve those who are being told to stay apart and stay home in order to stay safe? 

Through all of this, the mission of Doorway has not changed and continues to guide the work we do ~
              To walk with high-risk single mothers towards health and self-reliance.                                                            This is done as an expressing of  God’s love for us all.

BUT –– how do we carry out this mission when we can’t be together? 
             When we can’t chat face-to-face with participants as their children safely play with their Doorway friends? 
                     When we can’t offer a hug when tears fall or a high five when good news comes?
                             When we can’t welcome our many volunteers who want to serve and also be together?
 
     ~ We call, text or use Facebook weekly to check in, offer referrals and give encouragement
     ~ We offer over-the-phone or in-person counseling
     ~ We deliver milk and bread 
     ~ We deliver monthly fresh hampers, frozen meat hampers and our new ‘Cooking Class Hampers’
     ~ We facilitate small When Love Hurts groups to women and Home Improvement groups to men
     ~ We seek other resources in our community for additional support if needed
            And we plan for the day when we can be together again. 

Doorway looks very different right now.  There is more planning involved as there is so much more to consider.
But we continue to build on the relationships we already have with our families and volunteers
 ~ and we move forward (staying six-feet apart).

We pray, leaving it all in God’s hands.

Until we are all together again, thank you for your ongoing support. 

                                                                           Volunteer ~ Donate ~ Pray

           
 
 

​When I came to Doorway I was nervous, this was a whole new thing for me.  I didn’t really know what to expect at first and didn’t think I’d end up staying but I’m glad I did.  Doorway has become a huge part of my son’s and my life.  Since going to Doorway my son, has become so much more playful with other kids.  He isn’t as shy and he loves to show me what he has done in class.
At Doorway, I learned how to be a better mother.  I’ve learned different ways to parent and different ways to manage my home.  Doorway has taught me that I’m not alone and there are other moms in the same situation as me. 
Because of Doorway, I can proudly say I have lots of learning to do still but I know that I’ll get to where I want to be.  If it wasn’t for Doorway, I wouldn’t be as social as I have become; I wouldn’t have made new connections; I wouldn’t have looked into schooling for myself and sports for my son. 
Doorway pushes me to be a better Mommy.  I honestly would be lost without Doorway.  They are the best thing that has happened for my son and me.

​Sardis Doorway Origins by Elsie Goerzen
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The seeds of Doorway were planted in me in 1967, in the Nursery of the pediatric ward of Vancouver General Hospital, where I was working as a young newly graduated nurse. I encountered an injured infant and his young parents, who were struggling with life, and for whom there was little support.

So here was a vulnerable infant, and there were his vulnerable parents. And I thought: who was there for these parents, to support them, to give them encouragement, to help them learn the many skills required to be healthy parents?
 
As time went on, and Walt and I had our own two children, I became more aware of the challenges of parenting and the reality of child abuse in our world. I read about it, and thought about it, and in 1982 or so, I had a phone call, inviting me to become a volunteer facilitator with a support group for parents in Chilliwack, named Parent Support Circle.  Here the stresses of parenting were acknowledged, encouragement was given and parenting skills were learned. A scripture verse had been ringing in my head for some time already: ‘Of those to whom much is given, much will be required.’ I realized that I was incredibly privileged in my life, and at the same time, recognized the courage and strength of the people I was learning to know in the support group.
 
And a dream began, that these women, to whom life had handed great challenges, had something we needed to learn from them. And that we, in the church, had resources we needed to share. I thought, wouldn’t it be wonderful if these two groups of women I was now part of, could merge and become friends. And as it happens when a dream begins to grow, God nurtures that dream, putting ideas, people, and events in your path to confirm it.
 
One of those events was that my sister-in-law told me about a group known as Open Door, in North Vancouver: a support group for single mothers; and she said, ‘Elsie why don’t you start something like that in Chilliwack?’   Well, that was too scary to consider, but my sister Irmi (who lives next door to us) and I began talking about the idea. We thought maybe we could do it in our homes, and then if it all failed, no-one would know and we wouldn’t feel foolish. Not long after, I met Lee through a mutual friend (Sue!) who knew Lee had a similar desire.
 
 Lee and I met, on our Patio and soon visited the N Vancouver Open Door.  We then invited women from all the churches in Chilliwack to a meeting, held in October 1986. Thirty-five women came, and Elvira Corben, the coordinator of the North Van Open Door came to tell us about what they did.
At the end of the morning, we extended an invitation to anyone who was interested to meet at our house the following week. Now, I don’t really believe in bargaining with God, and I did feel a bit like Abraham, but I suggested to God that if we had 10 people come, then we’d know we had enough to start.
And you might guess how many people showed up the next week!  10!  It was amazing, how those people had been prepared for just something like this they came with the varied skills we would need to begin this endeavour.
 
We had some preparatory work to do: we had to obtain our licence, be checked out by Social Services, have the Fire Inspector come, etc. During this time of waiting, we met weekly, to plan, to pray, to strategize, to dream.
 
At last, on February 17, 1987, Sardis Open Door began, with four mothers and six children.  By June, we had twelve mothers with 16 children, and 19 volunteers.  One year later, in June 1988, we were involved with 45 families, and we were operating two days a week.
 
At one of our morning staff meetings in the first year, Grace Wiens read from Mother Theresa’s Words to Love By, a piece based on Matthew 25.
That became our theme, when at times the work seemed overwhelming, we could remind ourselves: I can only love one person at a time.
 
A name change occurred in 1996, when we formed our own local board of Directors, and we became Sardis Doorway.
 
I “retired” in 2005, and I am thrilled to see Doorway thriving, with the leadership of Karin (and Denise, and Heather before her) and the Board. It is a wonderful thing to see the being that began as a fledgling little group 30 years ago flourish, growing in strength and effectiveness, and blessing all involved in this family known as Sardis Doorway.
 
God who began a good work so long ago, has done (and continues to do) far above and beyond what we could ever have asked or imagined!

Elsie is now the End Abuse Coordinator for MCC ​     https://mcccanada.ca/learn/more/end-abuse
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