Brandy Upshaw weathered many of life’s darkest storms at the homeless encampment on Green Road in Dartmouth, N.S. “I came from a life of trauma and abuse and neglect and sexual exploitation. I was homeless for three years on these very grounds from there I was in a Christian rehab centre. I was addicted to crack cocaine. I lost everything, my children included myself, my self-worth,” says Upshaw. Following her time in that treatment, Brandy fell back into her old patterns. She said God helped her turn her life around. “Sept. 11, 2023, I got on my knees, and I said, ‘I need help. I need you. If you are real, please show me. I don’t want you how religion gives you or whatever anybody says, I need you to show me,’ and he did, oh, he did,” says Upshaw. From that moment, Upshaw focused on spreading the message of hope. She started by volunteering with nonprofits, including Souls Harbour Rescue Mission. After some time there, she felt called to go out into the community. “It was nice, but they have a lot of volunteers, and I am grateful for that. The streets still need people so the Lord put it on my heart to actually get out and be what he was,” says Upshaw. Upshaw has been clean for the last few years and has a desire to help others. Over the last three weeks, she as well as her family and members of the Faith Community Church in Lower Sackville have visited the encampment once a week. “We pass out the food and then we say a prayer to pray us in. We have some worship, a time of worship, a word, and then we have a call to salvation for anyone who wants to give their life to the Lord and we distribute Bibles and it’s just really a time of fellowship,” says Upshaw. Her goal is to show love and let people know they are not forgotten or alone. PJ McKay, who lives at the Green Road encampment, says her hope for these services is to bring the community together peacefully. “Since it started I have been able to take a deep breath a little more often and bear with things that are going on. I don’t feel as pressured,” says McKay, Michelle Thibodeau, who moved to this encampment just over a week ago, says having the team there has humbled her. She had the team pray over her last week. “Oh, my gosh, I was in tears, I was blessed and I felt it. I felt the warmth. I really did,” says Thibodeau. Following this team’s visit to the Green Road encampment, they visit shelters like the Bridge shelter in Dartmouth and the Travelodge, and then walk the streets. “My heart is here, my heart is with the people, and people tend to think that these people are just addicted or they just threw their life away, I know different. Some people fall and have hard times, trauma happens or just job losses, I just want people to know that these people need love, they are humans too and they are no less than us just because they are in a tent,” says Upshaw. The services are currently every Wednesday at noon at the Green Road encampment. Starting Sept. 19, they will also have more members of their church joining for services every other Saturday. Upshaw welcomes others to attend, whether they need support or can help give it. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
