Meet our Staff: Ken Schmidt – The Door Is Open

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- MissionOur vision is to continue the mission of Christ and the work of the Church under the mandate of Catholic Charities. Our mission will be to lessen the social alienation of the poor, the homeless, and the single room tenants of Vancouver by funneling the community resources available to us. We will do this through the following projects: We will provide our patrons with shelter during the day by running a drop-in center where they can relax and socialize or have a light meal. We will provide our patrons with safe respite during the day from the dangers of the street. We will run for our patrons a recreation program of video entertainment, computer access and free general interest books and magazines. We will run a community service hours project as an outlet for the Elizabeth Fry Society program of the B.C. Justice Department to compensate the community for its victimization We will provide a space for religious and secular groups who offer social service programs for the community and require a physical location to run these programs. Under the inspiration of Jesus Christ we recognize the inherent value of our patrons and will exemplify the beatitudes through our relationship with patrons by emphasizing the following values: We have a patron-driven attitude. We…
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- Free Lunch ProgramThe quality of the lunch we offer daily to our guests continues to improve considerably. This is a result of our contacts with several Catholic Parishes, youth groups and Catholic elementary and high schools who volunteer as well as provide good quality food for our soup and sandwich free lunch. This is in addition to donations from the food bank and other food donors. Our daily capacity to feed the hungry is about 400 people.
- Women’s GroupThe women’s group reach between twenty-five and fifty women using this program on a regular basis. Women meet every Wednesday over a well-balanced meal to discuss such issues close to them as housing, clothing, nutrition and other topics of interest and concern. Housing being the most crucial issue is discussed at length in a group setting and in a one-on-one environment. Most of the women live in small hotel rooms with no access to kitchens. Some are even forced to live on the street with no shelter or food. These women depend on The Door Is Open to meet with others in the same situation, to share a meal and their experiences with new friends, and also engage in some arts and crafts.
- Information, Support and AwarenessHere the clients come to us needing solution-oriented suggestions on how they can help themselves to live a more fulfilling and rewarding life. Our daily work promotes a sense of dignity and self respect among those that need it most, the less fortunate. Most of our guests lack the resources and means to make a better life for themselves. With education, guidance and strong support anything is possible. This program has been a great success as witnessed by the change of their attitude and behavior.
- Youth Groups and StudentsWe have had the delight of introducing some youth groups to the ministry. As we have become more known in the community, we have had an increase participation of students and youth groups who want to share their energy and talents to make the community a better and safer place. This has been a rewarding experience for all involved. Each year there are over seven hundred shoeboxes filled with gifts for the homeless made by students from different schools. This program provides the homeless with the knowledge that people care about them and it provides young people with a valuable experience in charity which may encourage them to do more in the future.
- Clothing ProgramAs we give clothing all year round, we are always in need of donations. It is especially needed during the cold winter months when many of our visitors have little in the way of appropriate clothing to get them through this time of year. We supply clothing for men, women, and children. We also supply sleeping bags and blankets to make the nights a little less difficult.
- Food BankThe staff of the Greater Vancouver Food Bank helps to make it possible for us to feed the many that arrive on our doorstep everyday. On the first three Thursdays and Fridays of every month the food bank brings to The Door Is Open approximately seven hundred bags of food for our clients. The bags of food are given freely at the front door between the hours of eight-thirty a.m. and ten-thirty a.m. We are especially thankful for the continuous support from the Food Bank.
- VolunteerWe are very fortunate to be able to offer a wide variety of gifts and services to our clientele. None of this would be possible without the help of our many volunteers. Our volunteers are from all walks of life with no boundaries between race, age, gender, or social economic status. These volunteers work tirelessly to accomplish the tasks at hand. Volunteers are the very essence of our existence and set a great example for others to follow. Helping others is at the heart of what we do. You are needed here.
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Starting at the Door is Open (DIO) around 1996, Ken is our longest serving staff member! With the help of a large group of volunteers recruited through the BC Catholic, Brother Tim had cleaned up, renovated, and re-opened the drop-in centre a year or two before. After the renovations were complete a couple of volunteers remained, and until Ken came to work with him, Brother Tim was never able to take a day off. At that time, the DIO opened in the afternoon and showed a movie and had coffee and tea available plus any donated pastries. Ken was the sole person responsible for opening and closing up each day, and he remembers coming to open up the front door one day and finding cash that had been pushed through the mail slot! Unfortunately, that only happened a few more times, and Ken never found out the source of those donations.

Ken and Julia

The drop-in centre was very busy, and after another year, Fr. Tim had to hire another person to join them. This was Julia Ruggier, who continued working there until her retirement in June 2015. Julia recalls how chaotic the DIO was at that time, with many guests dropping in but often conflicts arising between them. She was very grateful to discover that Ken had a gift for breaking up fights and calming down hot tempers. Together, they came to realize that most people just wanted to have someone ‘see’ them, listen to their stories, and share the space and time with them. As Mother Teresa so aptly noted, “There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread”. Within a year, Julia and Ken were able to transform the DIO into an oasis of peace in the DTES, and Julia attributes much of this to Ken’s quiet and firm but gentle, calm, and respectful manner as he interacted with the guests. They worked together to add programs to the DIO, approaching the Food Bank for food donations, and leading to the daily lunch program that continues successfully to today.

We are very blessed to have Ken at DIO!

Ken and Archbishop Miller at the 2018 DIO Christmas party

Ken with his nephew Dan and sister Delores

Categories: Meet Our Team