What started out as a way for Joseph Sikora to give back to the homeless community after struggling with his own addictions issues has now become a recognized charitable organization.
Ground Zero Ministries of Abbotsford has obtained official Canada Revenue Agency approval as a charitable organization, meaning donations supporting their efforts will now receive official tax receipts.
Ground Zero’s mission is to put the homeless into recognized treatment facilities and, later, permanent housing and full-time employment.
Sikora founded Ground Zero Ministries in 2021. He has lived experience as a homeless fentanyl addict. Sikora and his volunteers are dedicated to helping the unhoused live in dignity by providing food, water, clothing, and essential living supplies, including haircuts.
Ground Zero’s name comes from the informal name given to the largest homeless encampment in Abbotsford, on Lonzo Road.
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“Ground Zero is where we began our ministry to the unhoused and addicted and it continues to be a site where we provide critical social services help,” Sikora said. “Our goal is to get people off the streets and into new situations that benefit their lives and our shared communities.”
Every Wednesday and Saturday, Ground Zero volunteers give out over 80 meals a day and essential living supplies to Abbotsford’s homeless population, including bottled water, gloves, socks, underwear, and hygiene products.
Sikora and his team befriend the unhoused, gain their trust, take them to medical appointments, and place them into a detoxification/opiate replacement therapy program. Later, they transition them into stable shelter with partners, Joshua House, Psalm 23 Transition Society, and Raven’s Moon Resource Society, or low-barrier treatment facility/transition shelters, with a target of 90 per cent housed after 12 months.
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“We personally drive our clients to medical appointments because unhoused people with substance abuse issues lack critical access to the lone opiate replacement therapy facility in the region,” Sikora, executive director of Ground Zero Ministries, said. “Access to detox therapy is a critical step towards becoming securely housed, and they have no means of getting there without us.”
Ground Zero is made possible entirely through the compassion and generosity of donors. All donations are eligible for an official CRA tax receipt. Ground Zero Ministries CRA number is 767242704 RR 0001. To learn more, or make a donation, visit gzministries.ca.