The Love Seat Project

We're taking a moment with friends and allies of Green Wood Coalition to talk about community, compassion and lessons learned from the pandemic. Shot it 2020, we call this the Loveseat Project.

Photos by Lana Mission

Trenholm Parker (with Britt Parker, children, Hazel and Willem and pup, Foster)

Green Wood Coalition brings a strategy to a topic that people are uncomfortable with. And what I like about that strategy is that it’s soft spoken, it’s gentle. People who are experiencing homelessness or whatever troubles they face don’t need the hard hammer of law and order, they need a voice that is compassionate.

Shane Watson

Help goes both ways. It’s not just about people who have certain advantages helping people who are on the margins. People who need the help are providing something to those who have something to give.

Graham Beer

We all have a difficult story to share this year, especially for those most vulnerable in our community. Together we have the potential to listen, learn, and grow as an empathetic neighbourhood that welcomes everyone. That's the world I want to live in, and we can lead the way right here in Northumberland.

York Bell-Smith

Be observant. See what is going on. Take in what is going on. And as you’re seeing that, look inside yourself. No gesture, nothing you can do to help out, is too small.

Nikki Tomasi-Gunter (with daughter Grayah)

Everyone keeps saying that beyond the pandemic we’ll go back to normal, and I don’t know if that’s exactly what I’m seeking. I hope for a world with a little bit more compassion and understanding. Things aren’t always right or wrong or black or white. There’s room for people just to be people.

Rev. Neil Ellis

We live in a self centred, me-first society, and I think we need to take a step back from that and recognize that we’re not in it alone.

We’re surrounded by people who probably care more than we realize, and if we reach out to our neighbours, to our family, to our friends, then I think we can create that better society, that better world. It’s just as simple as communicating with one another, sharing with one another and taking care of people who are in need.

Ted Staunton

In a community like ours, it can be very tempting to think that the issues Green Wood Coalition and Coldest Night of the Year try to address don’t exist. So many people seem to lead comfortable lives, but these issues are pervasive. They’re part of the texture, sadly, of our society, and it’s imperative that we all try to do something about it.