“It didn’t only give me hope, it also changed my life,” says a Pathway of Hope graduate
Hope Stories
Pathway of Hope Graduation Ceremony
"It didn't only give me hope, it also changed my life," says a Pathway of Hope graduate
Many Canadians are still living in poverty, depression, and isolation, particularly in the past two years of pandemic life – many of us lost our jobs, our friends, our family and even our goals and hope in life. The Pathway of Hope (POH) exists to provide intensive individualized support to our participants to achieve short- and long-term goals. The Salvation Army Boundless Vancouver is very dedicated to becoming a place to welcome all neighbours into a community of hope. We, therefore, started our Pathway of Hope programme last year.
Six months have passed. A heartfelt thank you to the great efforts of our caseworkers and POH participants. We are so excited and honoured to announce that three of our POH participants graduated! Their families and friends were invited to attend their POH graduation ceremony to share their happiness and celebrate one of their biggest milestones in life! They were invited to share their stories and thoughts on stage, which was definitely not easy. Don't forget that, half a year ago, they were still standing at their crossroads and struggling with life.
“After I came here (The Salvation Army Boundless Vancouver), I have become more positive and energetic. I live alone so nobody talked to me. I am so blessed to meet Debby, my caseworker. She is strong, smart and very kind, providing me with advice on how to change my lifestyle, my presentation skills and how to achieve my goals step by step. I like her so so much....” Soohyang, having tears come out of her eyes, expressed how thankful she is.
Another graduate, Mary, said “POH is a program which is great for me. I learnt a lot about myself and it helped me to keep going even when I felt like I didn’t keep on going…it reminds me that God is with me in the process. Today is just a first step to the very interesting and exciting future of mine..”
Iraj who is a very dedicated volunteer at Boundless Vancouver and also a great father added, "During Covid, I felt isolated and lost my path in professional career. Joining the POH created an opportunity to set new goals and take action to achieve those goals. Because of POH, I could focus more on one or two very important things in my life - I started to earn part-time money to support my family to do what I love. POH provides me with an extra set of tools needed to succeed as well as the opportunity to volunteer and serve the community. Thank you so much for changing my life.”
Our whole Boundless Vancouver team is blessed to be on part of their life journeys and we hope to continue giving everyone a warm welcome to the community of hope. Your support to us, in different ways and forms, will keep us going.
Written by Bernice Chiu
Powerful words from our Ministry Unit Leader, Jonathan Evans, gave a lot of strength and encouragement to POH graduates, their families and friends.