Bill Mollard President UGM

Posted by Bill Bourlet

Bill Mollard was our speaker this week. He is the President of Union Gospel Mission. He was a Rotarian for many years with the Burnaby Club. He was with the Salvation Army for 25 years and is married to a Salvationist. UGM is a $14 MILLION organisation today. We can only set about to build on that. You need a strong discipline to serve. People lose hope on the street. In strong economic times Homelessness increases. The gap actually widens between the rich and the poor. Especially woman and children. Much of the source of the problem today can be attributed to drugs such as Crystal Meth, Crack and Coke. They are cheap and available. People become addicted and dependent from as little as 90 days to 2 years. Theses drugs give you Wet Brain. We have a lot of mental health problems on the street. We are the front of a war zone.

We serve a quarter of a million meals a year. This is a gateway to a continuum of care with outreach workers that can create a plan to help them. We help wounded people. We can create a new downtown. We can start with children. You can take unruly children and change things in just a weeks camping trip. Every crisis is an opportunity We will be closing the Youth Drop in Centre. Turning it over to Covenant house. (This is our project that we have involved in for years now). Are we exceptional stewards of our resources? We have a new $31 million dollar facility. We can now serve 275 meals at a sitting with 35 new beds and 5 suites for Woman and children. Can we learn and make a difference Can we add to our strength? (This was one of the best speakers I have listened to at Rotary. Very inspiring. Ed Comments)