Love Ottawa uniting mentorship ministries to reach at risk youth

Elizabeth Mabie
Special to Spur Ottawa

Up to 90 percent of homeless and runaway children come from fatherless homes, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services. Numerous studies demonstrate the challenges that father-absent children face. These problems disproportionately affect ethnic communities.

Inspired by local pastor Joseph Kiirya, Love Ottawa is launching The Code, a mentoring ministry for young men.

When Kiirya joined the Love Ottawa team, three years ago, he raised two concerns that were burning on his heart: the condition of Ottawa’s immigrant community and the plight of single mothers.

“Basically, he hit us right between the eyes, very boldly,” says Gerry Organ, a life coach and member of Love Ottawa’s executive team. “We were so surprised because that wasn’t exactly what we were expecting, nor was it what we had been focusing on.”

Kiirya, who immigrated to Canada from Uganda, has been working with Ottawa’s immigrant community since 2006, after learning that black men make up almost 10 percent of Canada’s prison population.

“The Code is basically the bringing together of all other men, ministries, and people who are involved in mentoring young men.”

“Many of them are young people, so, as an immigrant pastor, I felt a special responsibility to do something,” Kiirya explains. “With the black community, we only have so much of a future when many of our young people, the leaders of tomorrow, end up in jail.”

Not long after Kiirya raised the issue, he brought a small group of single mothers to a Love Ottawa meeting. As they shared their stories, a few shared that their sons who were shot and killed in various circumstances. One mother remarked that she has four young sons with no father figure in their lives. Her oldest, she said, wanted to play football, but she was unable to help him in this time consuming and expensive pursuit.

“As a former football player, I couldn’t let that go,” says Organ, a former Grey Cup champion who played for the Ottawa Rough Riders.

Organ connected with the young man, Paul, and for the past year and a half has been acting as his life and football coach. Kiirya says the mentorship’s positive effects on Paul are evident.

It was this initial connection that sparked work on The Code. The word “code” is an acronym for coaching, optimizing, discipling, and empowering.

“The Code is basically the bringing together of all other men, ministries, and people who are involved in mentoring young men, particularly young black men. I’m coaching these ministries and helping them become what God wants them to be,” Kiirya explains.

“You can make a difference by being like a good coach who speaks truth graciously and takes advantage of teachable opportunities.”

Through The Code, Kiirya and Love Ottawa hope to erode some of the effects of fatherlessness in Ottawa. They recently connected with Ian Nairn to discuss ways to build the mentorship program, which is still in the early phases.

Nairn serves as the National Missions Manager for the men’s ministry Promise Keepers Canada. He has decades of experience mentoring young men.

Nairn says father-absent youth often feel a loss of value and struggle with resentment. Some kids turn to gangs and drugs to find a place to belong. Many also wrestle with suicidal thoughts.

In fact, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services, 63 percent of youth suicides in the States come from fatherless homes. Yet Nairn says godly men can break this cycle by investing in young people as mentors and father figures.

“You can make a difference by being like a good coach who speaks truth graciously and takes advantage of teachable opportunities. You can make a difference by affirming, encouraging, and blessing their God given gifts and abilities,” he explains.

Nairn has witnessed mentorships build young people’s self-confidence, help them build healthy relationships, teach them to take responsibility, and point them to Jesus.

Just beginning

The Code is still in the experimental stages. They currently work with only two mentors, but they plan to expand gradually in 2017.

“We want to grow slowly because of all the pitfalls and potential conflicts that come out of these relationships,” explains Organ. “We have to do this carefully to make sure that everything from liability to the law is taken into consideration.”

Mentors go through extensive training that takes between three and 12 months. It is a significant time commitment and serious responsibility, but the rewards are evident in the lives changed.

As Nairn puts it, “There is no greater calling on a man’s life than to reveal the ‘father heart’ of God in all his relationships.”