Tim Huff
Director, Light Patrol and Homelessness Initiatives

“Spare change – for my friend on the next block. He’s going home.”

In over 20 years of street work, I had never seen a sign like this. I quizzed homelesss young Terrance on his sign, as he sat panhandling on Queen Street. And he explained, his buddy “Shaggy” was ready to return home, now that his mom had separated from his very abusive dad, and he just needed money for a train ticket east.

Terrance had nothing. One rung below Shaggy’s plight, he didn’t even know where mom was. Any change he could reel in from strangers, he could more than use for himself. But, while his life and prospects were cold and dark, his heart was the warmest and brightest light on the Queen Street strip.

This is not a story about panhandling or begging, or meant for the controversial dialogue it often brings. It is not really even a story about homelessness. It is a story about advocacy.

The word “advocate” gets thrown around a lot in this day and age. Measured up against the notion of “armchair quarterbacks”, there are countless water cooler advocates across the country, soap-boxing on every issue under the sun. Sometimes the title “advocate” is owned with more pride than goodwill. But the heart of advocacy is not words on a page or spoken aloud. They have their place, but they are not at the core.

Empathy, selflessness, and a passion for justice – these create the bedrock for godly advocates. It is impossible to imagine a Messiah that would only talk about serving the poor and loving His neighbour, or merely speculate on dying for our sins. The words were, and are, transforming because they coincide with the humility and sacrifice of actions.

Through my highest and lowest of times at Youth Unlimited, one of the constant encouragements to me has been listening to the hearts of our staff as they share the challenges of the young people they are among. Heartfelt words born out of seeing, experiencing, doing, and wanting to do more. This is advocacy. This is what makes words spoken aloud or on a page come to life, and become more than just opinions.

Shaggy went home. Two thirds of the train fare were paid for by Terrance, who hugged him goodbye at the train station, and returned to his cold, wet corner. The day Shaggy left, Terrance had one small sign in front of his empty coffee cup. Asking for nothing, it simply read, “Thank you, my friend is home.”

This is advocacy.

Printed in the Youth Unlimited (Toronto YFC) Times, Volume 10, Issue 2, Spring 2009.

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After several years of participation with Hockey for the Homeless in Toronto, at the start of 2009, Tim accepted an official position on the newly restructured National Executive.

Hockey for the Homeless is now active in four of Canada’s NHL cities, with the goal of being in all six within the next two years. What exactly is Hockey for the Homeless? Have a look at this video to find out what this exciting national initiative is all about!

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Friday, April 17th & Saturday, April 18th ~ Tim will be participating at MissionFest in Toronto. For more information, please visit www.missionfest.org.

Saturday, April 25th ~ Tim is speaking at the Northern Association of Baptist Churches’ Assembly in Elliot Lake, Ontario

Friday, May 1st ~ Tim’s band Outrider will be doing a concert at Bendale Bible Chapel’s One Way Inn alongside the Daniel Band.

Saturday, May 2nd ~ Steps for Light: Light Patrol’s annual walk-a-thon fundraiser. This fun 5km walk through Willet Creek Park runs from 10 am to 1 pm. Download the brochure or contact Robert Gin for more information, robgin@hotmail.com.

Saturday, May 2nd ~ Tim will be present and signing books at the Grand Opening of Faith and Family Books in Toronto.

Sunday, May 3rd ~ Tim is speaking at Frank St. Baptist Church in Wiarton, Ontario.

June ~ The last week of June, Tim will be attending and speaking at the Youth for Christ National Staff Conference, in Edmonton, Alberta.

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Street Level is a national conference designed to network, resource, encourage and equip those who work among homeless and street-involved youth and adults, or are interested in engaging in relevant social justice issues.

The theme for Street Level 4 was “A Legacy of Justice”. The following statement will inspired and informed every element of the conference, from speakers and sessions, to music, to artwork and design:

“The truest hallmark of real justice is that every person, regardless of economics, age or culture, has the extraordinary opportunity to leave a legacy of meaning; legacies of hope, redemption, restoration, reconciliation, relationship – indelible imprints of truthtelling and peacemaking. Justice, demonstrated and experienced, always leaves a legacy.”

The conference was a wonderful time of teaching and sharing, but most of all, a time of “family”. We were honoured to once again have with us Steve Bell – this time accompanied by Mike Janzen and Gilles Fournier – leading us in times of worship, reflection and celebration, with his unequalled giftedness, sensitivity and humour.

On the Friday night of the conference, Tim led and spoke at the plenary session, on the subject of “The Magnificent Paradox of Giving Up: Celebrating small victories and sacred moments.”

Tim’s talk, and those of all the other plenary speakers and workshop leaders, can be ordered at www.swordfishdigital.com.

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As 2008 came to a close, I had the unique and humbling opportunity to serve on an International Teams volunteer Christmas team in Romania. Nine Canadians and one American travelled to the International Teams training house in Cluj, Romania to join a small Romanian volunteer team. During our time there we brought a bit of “Christmas” to children in several orphanages, and supported the ongoing Romanian team with every opportunity we could. We journeyed from large orphanages (like the one in Beclean) to the poorest of orphanages (like the one in Illisua). Additional opportunities to experience God in the faces of the poorest of the poor and broken-hearted came as we visited the bleakest of institutions for the elderly, hospital psychiatric wards, and a stark schoolhouse in the impoverished countryside of Figa. As part of this team, at each venue, I also had the unique and profound opportunity to play the role of “Santa Claus”. As cliché as it is to say – still, it is so – that a picture paints a thousand words. Thus, though impossible to fully explain the experience, this slideshow of visuals (set to the award-winning music of one of our team members) speaks volumes. The pictures were taken in facilities where we were permitted to photograph. (Which is definitely not all of them, for several reasonable, and sometimes shameful, reasons.) For more information about The Romania Project, and links to the broader work of International Teams, go to:www.theromaniaproject.com .

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Jimmy-D is a boy wonder. One of countless brilliant minds hidden in the cracks of our nation’s city streets and alleyways. Tucked away on the external side of an abandoned lakeside sawmill, his make-shift dwelling is a monument to ingenuity and street genius. Several times he had cooked me hot dogs using two nails and electrodes wired to 9 volt batteries. He kept a small space heater working on a timer via a car battery and re-jigged booster cables. And a string of ten blue Christmas lights were lit for five minute intervals on a WWII radio hand generator he bought at an army surplus store. Sad, beautiful blue bulbs that would slowly begin to fade as the juice ran out; an ironic metaphor for street life, too profound to miss.

One night while we roasted marshmallows over a wheel-rim fireplace, I asked him, “Why blue lights?” (Then told him they were my favourite.)

He answered with a soft smile, “Grandpa told me blue is the colour of depth… and everything deep in your soul is blue.” Grandpa was both artist and poet. And lifeline.

Jimmy-D’s grandpa died when he was twelve, just two years before Jimmy-D escaped his abusive home. A bright blue light in Jimmy-D’s soul.

God’s secret weapons in the fight for faith are warm grandpas and tender grandpas. There are more safe and loving memories and wise quotes from grandparents floating along curbsides in Canada than from any other source – including parents, peers, teachers and preachers.

We sat below the blue bulbs at brow level, weaved betweed skid-planks, and ate toasted marshmallows in silence. Between each roasting, he would lean over and re-hinge the hand generator’s handle and wind the bulbs to a brighter blue.

A few marshmallows and rewinds later, I asked, “What else can you tell me about your grandpa?”

Jimmy-D leaned into his shanty and rummaged around. And he handed me an old leather Bible. An old-school, Grandpa-looking Bible, with a cover that folded over the tissue-thin, gold-edged pages. He didn’t say a thing. He couldn’t. So he wound up the lights, opened the Bible on my knees and tapped his finger on the inscription.

In Grandpa’s lovely cursive writing, it read:

“My dear James, no matter what goes wrong in life, this will always be right. I will always love you – Grandpa.”

I read the inscription out loud. Then we sat in silence until the lights went out.

May your Christmas be filled with the depth of blue and what’s truly “right.”

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On June 26th – technically the last day of school – I was walking through a downtown park at 1 am. Several people dotted the park in slumber, or passed out – but one unlike all the others. I came across a young man flat on his back; unconscious, bloodied, backpack of items dragged open around him. I called EMS, and waited by his side.

It was both sickening and fascinating to sit inches away from a total stranger who is completely vulnerable and unaware of your presence. Even after experiencing it as such hundreds of times. As I waited I decided to gather the remains of his belongings and put them back in his pack. Left behind were the un-sellable, un-useable items; a street-muggers rejects. Among them… a grade 12 report card from another province. Information-gathering is the justifying word for a street workers curiosity. I looked. Four failing grades.

Most people think kids run from home for fear of low-brow abuse and addictions. But it is remarkable how many run from well-to-do, high-achiever expectations. This was Andrew’s story. Bad grades=dad’s wrath=beatings.

After an entire summer surviving the streets, Andrew is returning home for another stab at grade 12. By phone, the arrangements had all kinds of conditions and expectations that ended with his dad’s words, “or else.”

Andrew’s dad is a scholar. Andrew’s dad is also a cold fool. Andrew has already lived out “or else,” like no one should even have to imagine. Pride has wounded many young souls on the street than drugs and weapons ever could. It’s enough. It’s more than enough.

As the school year starts – let’s love our young ones through bad marks, good marks, peer pressure, teen angst, whatever comes, whatever doesn’t. Just as God has in store for all of us, no matter how we succeed or fail… knowing that “I love you” is always the “or else”; regardless of all other consequences.

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John Mohan, Executive Director of Siloam Mission in Winnipeg, writes a weekly column for the Winnipeg Sun. His October 15 column, in John’s typically humorous fashion, describes Tim, his book Bent Hope, and the ‘Stories from the Street’ tour, in which Tim is partnering with Siloam Mission.

Here’s an excerpt: By looking at him, you’d never know he’s a gifted artist, accomplished author, friend of one of Canada’s richest women, and a veteran compassionate worker among street youth.

With an ensemble that makes one wonder if he missed out on fashion 101 and wit that could place him as a headlining act at the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, Tim Huff is not what he appears. He’s actually a national spokesperson and crafted story teller who brings dignity and humanness to the misunderstood subculture of Canada’s homeless youth…

Click here to read the full article.

“Stories from the Street” Tour, Fall 2008

Things are falling into place nicely for a mini “Stories from the Street” tour that will take the Bent Hope launch event on the road as part of a broader awareness-raising campaign, carried out in partnership with Castle Quay Books and local ministries. The event, generously sponsored by the Maranatha Foundation, will include Tim, of course, the three readers from the Bent Hope book launch, and our dear friend Steve Bell. We will be at the Winnipeg Art Gallery on October 22nd in partnership with Siloam Mission, and at the Boyce Theatre on the Stampede Grounds in Calgary on October 23rd, partnering with the Mustard Seed. These “by-invitation only” events will be geared towards gathering together key individuals from the literacy world, various levels of government, media, business leaders and key leaders and representatives from the fields of social justice and street ministry.

Rexdale Alliance Church

Tim will be speaking at Rexdale Alliance Church on Saturday, November 8th, at 6:30 pm, and Sunday, November 9th at both the 9 and 11 am services.

Brandon Youth for Christ

On Friday, November 14th, Tim will be the guest speaker at a Brandon, Manitoba Youth for Christ event.

“Be a Hero”

On Wednesday, November 19th, Tim will be the featured speaker at Halton Community and Social Services’ Be a Hero event, which encourages young people to become active in helping the less fortunate in their communities.

Romania

From Friday, November 21 to Saturday, November 29, Tim has the great privilege of traveling with International Teams to Romania to visit a number of orphanages.

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