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Out of the Woods / Explore magazine , March, 2004
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Street Wise, Trail Ready / Letter to Explore Magazine, May, 2004
- True Inspiration . . . / Bruce Trail Magazine, Summer, 2003
- Nomination to Sainthood / Rosedale United Church, November, 2002
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Paul Mackle . . . / Toronto Bruce Trail Club Magazine, Fall 2002
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City of Refuge: A Voice from the Street / Sanctuary, Summer, 2002
Letter to Explore Magazine, May 2004
The article about Paul Mackle's efforts to establish Street to Trail
initiative was both informative and timely (Explorata,
March 2004). For too long, the
needs of underprivileged individuals in Ontario, such as those assisted by
Mr. Mackle's program, have been let go-to the point that there are few
alternatives other than gangs, drugs and loneliness for these people.
As a board
member with the Ontario Trails Council, a charitable organization working
to match trails with persons in need of recreation, I would like to remind
people in Canada we believe our public space must be accessible to all,
regardless of age, gender, disability or financial hardship.
The OTC works with
public institutions to ensure accessible trails are developed and preserved
throughout Ontario. We're
organizing workshops in Peterborough, Ontario, on April 30, to explore
programs that youth at risk with such trails.
We applaud Mr. Mackle for his efforts, and commend explore for
highlighting this program.
We're sure that this exposure for the Street to Trail program will lead
other communities, and NGOs such as OTC, to support similar initiatives.
---- Bev McCarthy, Secretary, Ontario Trails Council
[To Table of
Contents]
Explore Magazine, March, 2004
Paul Mackle and his backcountry groups usually practice no-trace camping.
But it's with some pride that the founder of Street to Trail Wilderness
Adventures remembers one exception to the rule. They were on a canoe trip,
sitting around the fire, when someone pulled a crack pipe out of his pocket,
told the others he didn't need it anymore and hurled it into the lake.
"I'd fill a whole lake with crack pipes if I could," says Mackle.
Making crack pipes redundant is one objective of Street to Trail, a program
Mackle started after a few years as a trip leader for the Bruce Trail Association
and a decade volunteering at Sanctuary, a drop-in centre for the homeless
in Toronto. He had witnessed the rewards enjoyed by the hikers and the
needs expressed by the street people, and decided to bring the two elements
together.
"I see street people as lost hikers," says Mackle. "Maybe
they just fell of the trail somewhere."
In the fall
of 2001, he started leading day hikes along Ontario's 800-kilometre
Bruce Trail and four-day canoe trips on the Kawartha Lakes, two hours northeast
of Toronto. Trough the padding
covers only 21 kilometres, Mackle believes just getting bedrolls out from
under bridges and into the wilderness can have a positive effect on the
owners' self-esteem. "A canoe
trip is a lot of work, but everyone contributes," he explains, "and when
they come back they know they can depend on themselves and each other."
Jai Sarin,
who has been in and out of Toronto's shelter system, participated in
a canoe trip last summer. "I was having a rough time , but when I want on
that trip with Paul, it put me back into action mode," he says.
Sometimes
it's about just taking a break. "Inside my head is all noisy and cloudy."
Says Daniel Gray, a four- time trip veteran who struggles with a
chronic stress disorder.
"Knowing there's a quiet place where I can go and enjoy the beauty in
natural things-it gives me a sense of joy."
So far Mackle
has taken more than 70 street people on trips, but hopes to increase
funding and club activities once Street to Trail gains charitable status
this spring. "I know it's a
good start for a lot of people," says Mackle.
"I just hope it can ripple out from here."
--Ian Merringer
[To Table
of Contents]
The Bruce Trail
Association published this article in the Summer 2003 edition
of their quarterly publication.
True
Inspiration — the Street to Trail program. An innovative way to use the Bruce Trail
Paul Mackle is a
long time volunteer with the Toronto Bruce Trail Club. Paul has been leading
hikes for over three years and recently became the Landowner Relations
Director in the Toronto Club. These activities might exhaust an average
person's volunteer schedule. But not Paul's. volunteering with the Toronto
Club is only one way he is trying to make a positive change.
For the past 10 years Paul has been volunteering with homeless people,
providing them with food and connections to outreach programs. The people
he met at the drop-in centre affected Paul. Lack of self-esteem, inability
to make personal connections and a general lack of trust were issues that
seemed to affect a lot of people at the centre. Paul reflected on some
of the positive elements in his own life: his love of the outdoors, the
ability of nature to act as the great equalizer - inspiring awe and allowing
greater perspective. Understanding the healing power offered by time with
nature, Paul began a program called "Street to Trail". The Street
to Trail program brings the experience of communing with nature to those
who spend their lives on the street. It offers a way for people who might
never have the chance to go camping or hiking to experience it.
It is not just homeless people who go on Paul's trips. Anyone who can
afford to pay is also invited. For those who can contribute, there is
a $50 charge. The surplus from this fund helps to pay for those who cannot
afford to pay any amount. Paul is always looking for more funders and
equipment sponsors for his program.
What does Paul enjoy the most? "The friendship and companionship
of all the people I have met through the Bruce Trail Club and the hope
that is passed on to people who experience the Bruce Trail through the
Street to Trail program." Paul has truly found a unique and innovative
way to share the Bruce Trail.
[To Table
of Contents]
In November, 2002, Rev. Doug Norris of
Rosedale
United nominated Paul to sainthood (tongue only slightly in
cheek) for his work in pioneering Street to Trail.
"Paul runs a group called Street to Trail – and what he does is find
some of the men and women whose entire universe consists of the grimy streets
and sidewalks and crack houses and alleys where things go on that we really
cannot imagine and he takes a group at a time to the Bruce Trail, or canoeing
on northern lakes, and sees what happens when they breathe open air and
see beauty and are loved – and he does this because he has a conviction
about God’s love for them – and that working from almost nothing
but that love – working from that love and an old bike – God
will bring life. That is a saint."
[To Table of
Contents]
This article appeared on a full page of the Fall
2002 edition of the Toronto
Bruce Trail Club's magazine.
To us at the Bruce
Trail, Paul Mackle is one of the leaders who leads end-to-ends from the
Islington Station.
But to the street people of downtown Toronto, he's the guy who takes them
into nature, and helps them to discover themselves and restore their sense
of dignity.
Paul runs and operates Street to Trail, a non-profit organisation that
provides outdoor hiking, camping and cycling opportunities for Toronto's
disenfranchised. He takes them from the streets of Toronto to the wilderness
and lets the silence of God's voice nurture them. It was an idea that
came to him from his many years of volunteer work.
He has been volunteering at Sanctuary (a church-sponsored downtown drop-in
centre for people who are homeless) for nine years as a cook, and now
in any way he can. He often spends his time setting up tables for the
three complimentary meals offered each week or helping street people find
places to live, offering them guidance and helping them build crucial
relationships.
It was at Sanctuary that his idea for Street to Trail began. Paul likes
to bring the experience of being in nature to those who spend their lives
on the street and who might never have the chance to go on a camping trip
or a hiking excursion. He wants to help them come face-to-face with the
presence of God, to restore their wounded self-esteem and battered self-respect.
"It's amazing the response I have," he says. People have told
him they feel good for days after one of his camping trips. Sometimes
anger towards God can be resolved. Sometimes in doing the little chores
expected of them around camp people have restored their confidence in
themselves and have been able to find work again. No matter how he looks
at it, helping the disenfranchised in the grandeur of nature is rewarding
work.
It's not just people who are homeless who can come on his trips. Anyone
who can afford to pay are invited as well. Street to Trail has a three-tiered
payment system. In the first level, those with their own equipment pay
just $50 a day to cover the cost of food. In the second level, anyone
without equipment but who can afford to pay will be supplied equipment
by Street to Trail but will still pay $50 a day. The homeless fall into
the third category. All food and equipment are provided free of cost,
giving them an opportunity they would otherwise not have had. The surplus
from the first two levels will accommodate those in the third.
"Everyone's happy," Paul says. "Those who can afford it
help those who can't and it's still a better price than a commercial camping
trip." He sometimes gets customers from other walks of life, like
businessmen who, surprisingly, get along well with the others. Though
they're at opposite ends of the social spectrum, the experience of being
in nature brings them together. He likes to help people integrate, transcend
barriers, build community and grow.
Paul's love of the outdoors began when he was a teenager in Scarborough.
His parents wanted to find something interesting for him to do and encouraged
him to join the boy scouts. It was there that he trained in all aspects
of outdoor activities, including hiking, base camping, canoeing, and wilderness
survival. During one practice search-and-rescue mission he was expected
to rescue an injured pilot from a simulated plane crash, splint his broken
leg, build a stretcher and carry him out. Another time, when part of his
lessons in wilderness survival were complete, he was taken to a remote
area in the morning, given two matches, a string and a knife and was told
to build a shelter, have a fire going and have traps set by the evening.
When his instructors picked him up at the scheduled time, Paul had everything
done as requested and even handed them back a match.
In addition to his work at Sanctuary and Street to Trail, Paul also manages
to lead 12 to 15 hikes a year for the Bruce Trail, preferring end-to-ends.
"Leading hikes with the Bruce Trail is easier to organise than those
for Street to Trail. There's a lot less work," he says, "but
I enjoy both. I like the company of people who share a love of nature
with me."
While interviewing him, I couldn't help but think of Paul as a modern-day
Tarzan with just a hint of Robin Hood thrown in.
– by Lynn Glover
[To Table of
Contents]
Sanctuary Ministries of Toronto
published the following article in the "Faces of Our Community" section of
the Summer 2002 issue of City of Refuge:
It's hard to remember a time when Paul Mackle hasn't been around. For
years, he faithfully prepared the food for the weekday drop-ins, stretching
the food to feed everyone on a very limited budget. His consistent willingness
to be involved in meal preparation has inspired others to share this role
which has freed Paul up to pursue other interests. However, he still performs
the essential task of making sure the coffee's perking! Paul has a real
love and care for the people in the community. He also has a real love
of hiking and canoeing. In his new initiative called "Street To Trail"
, Paul is seeking to make it possible for people to get away from the
City to experience nature. As Paul has seen the growth and changes that
have taken place in Sanctuary over the years, so too, we at Sanctuary
have witnessed the growth and changes that have taken place in Paul. And
that's exciting!
[To Table of
Contents]
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