Volunteers bring compassion to drop-in listening service in Barrie
The Listening Post Barrie, a drop-in listening service, is being offered at multiple locations throughout the city, including the downtown library.
It gives people a safe space to open up and speak to someone one on one with no judgment.
"We listen, but more than that, we bring our hearts to it, and our intention of the heart which is to just be present to someone in a way that just lets them know that we value them and accept them as they are," said Ruth McDonald, founder and executive director of The Listening Post Barrie.
Heather Buchan is one of 30 volunteers who says volunteering resonates with her soul.
"I feel that it's an opportunity to provide what we all want - which is to be heard and seen and valued just as we are. So, for me, it's just a blessing," she said.
The Listening Post is a drop-in service with several locations across the City of Barrie. (CTV News/Molly Frommer)
The drop-in listening service can be found at multiple locations.
"There's the Busby Centre, Elizabeth Fry, who had a shelter at the same location as the Busby Centre, so then we started listening with them. There's transitional housing for Lucy's Place," said McDonald. "There is also the RSVP with the CMHA, and we're with Samaritan House, just to name a few."
McDonald said the group is currently looking for sponsors and donors, as well as more volunteers. She says she hopes to open more sites within the city.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.