Less than four years after sleeping on Rideau Street while homeless and struggling with addiction, Gerald Jorgensen is now returning to the same streets with wagons full of food, clothing and supplies for people experiencing homelessness. Jorgensen is the founder of Steps Off the Street, or S.O.S., a nonprofit organization that regularly heads into Ottawa’s downtown core to support people living rough while also helping connect those seeking recovery with detox and treatment services. “I know what it’s like to suffer on these streets I was homeless,” says Jorgensen. “I was sleeping on Rideau Street in January of 2023, addicted to IV fentanyl. I was at the end, so I said a prayer, ‘God, take me or save me.’ And It was three days later, I got approached by a Salvation Army outreach worker.” The worker helped Jorgensen reach out to his sister for help. “I called my sister and said, come and get me. She took me to her basement floor for three days, which is, you know, if I didn’t have her basement floor to go to, I wouldn’t be alive today.” He eventually entered recovery, and the experience would lead him to begin helping others facing similar struggles. “And, it’s grown into what it is today. We are now a nonprofit, we have amazing board of directors, and amazing volunteers, the best,” says Jorgensen. “We’re just out here trying to help people help make their day a little better.” Jorgensen says the organization conducts outreach every four to five days and also provides support through peer-to-peer recovery meetings and other programs at local community centres and shelters. A major part of the group’s work is connecting people who want help with addiction treatment. “We’re out here to help everyone, but we’re looking for individuals that want detox and treatment,” says Jorgensen. “Last month alone we took four people into detox. One of those people is at a sober living house in Kingston. The other is in a treatment center, and, the other two went back to the street. It’s frustrating and it’s rewarding at the same time. We have a person that was 24 years on and off the street, who is now sober, and he’s working. He’s over 16 months in recovery. Those people are the reason we keep going.” Richard Blute, a board member with Steps Off the Street, says the organization’s volunteers can offer something particularly meaningful to people still living on the streets. “We’re giving the message that your life doesn’t have to always be this way and, you’re not alone, and that’s really important,” he says. “A lot of these people were on the streets themselves before they volunteered here and they’re carrying the message that your life can change just as theirs did.” For volunteer Ally Cameron, that message comes from personal experience. “Yesterday was my six months sober, and I know what it’s like from my own experiences to feel like you don’t have options,” says Cameron. “So, if there’s anything I can do to make people not feel that way, that someone can see them, you know that’s why I do it.” Jorgensen says it can be surreal returning to the streets and seeing people he once lived alongside. “You know, it’s almost surreal to be on this side of it and going out and see the same people that I was on the street with,” he said. One of Jorgensen’s good friends, Rich Danby, says he has watched that transformation firsthand. “It was a couple of years ago we met at a Christian men’s retreat, and at that time, he was in recovery. He wasn’t even able to make eye contact at that point,” says Danby. “But I just knew we were going to be lifelong friends … It has been amazing to see the journey since then and how much he’s been able to accomplish. He’s inspiring a lot of people. He’s providing hope.” Jorgensen says the organization will continue its outreach efforts, with financial donations helping fund the work and allowing volunteers to respond to changing needs. The organization is also holding events, like a golf tournament on Sept. 25. For Jorgensen, the work is about giving back and making sure people living on the streets know they have not been forgotten. “Most of society walks by these people is looks at them as throwaways. They’re not throwaways,” he says. “I know what it’s like to, have absolutely nothing. And if we can make somebody’s stay a little better, that’s what we’re here to do.” Information on ways to help and donate can be found on Steps Off the Street’s website.
