Re: Inside Kate’s Rest, (News, February 12.) I stayed at Kate’s Rest pre-Covid for a few months to help me get grounded.
It kept me sane and supported where I felt every other resource failed me. I’ve recently returned due to health issues where I know I will have moral support. I was welcomed with open arms to a safe, warm, and normal community of people who co-exist with one another. I’ve struggled with addiction issues throughout my life.
It was a no-brainer for me to return to Kate’s to escape homelessness and all the struggles that come with it, i.e. subject to heavy drugs and having to co-exist with mental cases. Not once have I ever seen or heard anyone at Kate’s Rest promote or tolerate anyone on the property using or selling illegal drugs. If I needed a ride, they would help me with ample warning. If I needed someone to talk to, they are listening and giving good, healthy advice.
Whoever you are getting your info from was probably someone that needed to be weeded out and did not deserve to be there anyway. Thank God for Kate’s Rest and that they had a place for me to once again get my ducks in a row. These are troubled times. We need more places like Kate’s Rest for people like me so I can feel somewhat normal and off the streets.
Dave Caddick, Big Island, Demorestville
Your article, Inside Kate’s Rest (News, February 12), compels me to respond to some misrepresentations. The first is that I was removed from active ministry due to “allegations of fraud.” The archdiocese adheres to strict protocols should such allegations arise. If credible, a forensic audit is completed and, if there is evidence of fraud, then charges are laid. The person is not simply dismissed. The reason for our parting of ways was due to a difference between myself and the administration as to how to respond to the social justice aspects of the gospel. As the saying goes: “If you want to be a follower of Christ, you’d better look good on wood.” Their preference is not to risk it.
But what is most egregious is the manner in which your article characterized my friends here at Kate’s Rest as drug-dealing addicts that are incapable of looking after themselves. It paints a picture that I, a 71-year-old man, am in strict control of these, my friends, whom I have chosen to live with in community.
My fellow residents are very capable of looking after themselves, getting what they need and getting about. If they need a hand, as I do often, they simply ask for it, and many here are quick to help out, offer a ride, give a few bucks. Oh, and by the way, they all have cell phones.
We are a residence. A community of friends and not a “facility.” And your poorly researched and even more poorly written article presents an intentionally biased description of the people who live here. And that’s just plain wrong. I ask myself, what is your motivation? Why attack people who have had enough hardship in their lives to deal with?
We have a competent board of directors who take the responsibility to govern the foundation very seriously. We have accountants who review the bookkeeping records and accounts and who provide a rigorously audited financial statement each year. Your article’s description of financial mismanagement is dishonourable and unfounded.
I am a volunteer at Kate’s Rest 24 -hours a day, seven days a week, 12 months of the year, and have done for many years. No exaggeration. I might get a weekend away every six months. The reason I can make that commitment, and happily so, is because the people I live with are some of the best in the world. I love them dearly. And I am privileged to share life in community here at Kate’s Rest.
If someone thinks they are better equipped, more amply funded, professionally staffed and can have better results than what we have proven, then let them step forward. But you better look good on wood.
Brian Hart, Kate’s Rest, Big Island, Demorestville
The title of your article, Inside Kate’s Rest, (February 12), is misleading, as it suggests an in-depth portrayal of living conditions at Kate’s Rest. Yet its narrative is based solely on the testimony of two or three anonymous individuals who no longer reside there. While their perspectives are worth considering, unverified claims should not be taken as fact. As an investigative journalist, the responsibility falls on you to seek out and report the full truth.
I trust that your intent was not to misrepresent Kate’s Rest or harm those who call it home. I also believe you care about the individuals and families who live there and have their best interests at heart. But the unintended consequence of your article was to mischaracterize their living environment and potentially put their homes at risk.
Governments allocate billions of dollars annually to address homelessness, yet the crisis continues to escalate. Kate’s Rest operates differently, relying on private and corporate support to sustain its mission. It employs alternative metrics to measure success — ones that prioritize dignity, stability, and community. By these standards, and by the accounts of its residents, Kate’s Rest has been a resounding success.
As a dedicated volunteer, I have witnessed firsthand the positive impact of this initiative. I invite you and your readers to learn more, engage with the community, and perhaps even support our efforts. Together, we can foster a place where everyone feels welcomed and valued.
Mary Di Mambro, Picton
The Picton Gazette recently published an article about Kate’s Rest charity. I am shocked with the many serious misrepresentations in the article.
I have been a board member of Kate’s Rest for three years – beginning when the property was transferred to the charity. I am well qualified to know that this charity is well managed, based on being an MBA graduate, and having many years of board experience with charities in Toronto, such as Fred Victor Centre and Homes First Society. Kate’s Rest has an annual operating budget of about $120,000, and the financial statements show that it is a lean and well managed operation.
Kate’s Rest operates on a peer support model, and there are many existing long-time residents, including 6 residents who have been there for longer than 10 years, and 5 for more than 6 years.
Since the charity houses a number of individuals who have struggled with serious life challenges, it is to be expected that it will not always be smooth sailing. Brian Hart has demonstrated an extraordinary commitment over many years to supporting residents who have previously been homeless.
The Gazette should focus on the important community contribution that Kate’s Rest demonstrates in addressing the serious challenges of homelessness.
David Walsh, Toronto
I first came to know Brian Hart in 2007. He went from being my boss in an insulation business he started to help youth at risk, to becoming a father figure in my life to this day.
I have lived at Kate’s Rest for a few years and I’m still a volunteer now. I have seen the journey Brian has been through from the beginning. I have personally never met a more selfless person. I have seen firsthand the necessity of Kate’s Rest and the support it offers. Not only did Brian dump his whole life savings into this property to accommodate more people, and not only has he donated the property to the foundation, he only uses his vehicle to transport all of our friends to and from appointments or what have you. He works here day and night for no pay, as he feels helping people is his mission.
As a volunteer board member and with all the years that I have been behind Kate’s Rest, I found the Picton Gazette’s article very distasteful and mostly inaccurate, and I would urge the editor to do better investigative work before publishing something like that again.
Stefan Popa, Big Island, Demorestville
I found your article of February 12th regarding Kate’s Rest disappointing and unfair.
The perspective taken from the outset was decidedly hostile and unbalanced towards this unique charitable foundation.
Frankly, I was surprised that The Picton Gazette would publish such a mean-spirited story on a “begging bowl” charity trying its best to shelter the marginalized and care for the unhoused.
By comparison, on February 18th I attended an excellent and broadly-based working group of the County’s “Community Safety & Wellbeing” initiative on the subject of housing and homelessness.
At that working group round table Kate’s Rest made a very meaningful contribution.
If the auditors are correct, over the last 15 years Kate’s Rest has provided the equivalent of roughly $3 million in non-taxpayer supported care for our homeless and vulnerable.
Good journalism conventionally gets both sides of a story; though my experience in PEC suggests there are often 3 or 4 points of view on matters of public interest.
But your prejudicial article appears to focus on merely two grumbling and anonymous former residents, so what exactly did you expect or intend?
Was there an undisclosed or underlying agenda for your Picton paper here?
All that said, with more community support, enhanced resources, better structure and more goodwill, a currently under-funded Kate’s Rest residence should and would do better.
Indeed, we can all do better!
Bill Roberts, Councillor for Sophiasburg
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