Upper Room Mission Vernon

10/23/2026

Another great team day! Today our staff participated in verbal de escalation training. This is not only a way to help build on our staff's individual and team strengths and resilience it is also a way for us to support keeping both our guests and staff safer.

Learning the ins and outs of how to verbally deescalate guests gives our staff the tools they need to create a safer environment for all our guests and support them in building on their own skills and learning how to better regulate their own emotions.

We love offering these types of training opportunities for our staff and all the quality time and laughter we get to share while we learn and grow together!

Back to regular hours tomorrow!

10/20/2026

Celebrating Steps Toward Recovery and Healing. September was a month worth celebrating at the Upper Room Mission! We are incredibly proud of three individuals who took the courageous step of moving into recovery.

The Upper Room Mission is about so much more than providing a meal. While meeting immediate needs is an important part of what we do, we also walk alongside individuals who are ready to take steps toward recovery, healing, and a brighter future.

Recovery is not always an easy journey, but every step forward matters. We are honoured to support those who are ready for change, to encourage them along the way, and to remind them that they are not alone.

We continue to pray for these three individuals as they move forward in their recovery journeys, and we celebrate their courage, determination, and willingness to take this important step.

Will you celebrate with us? Help us spread hope by giving this post a ❤️ or 👍 and sharing it with your friends and community. Together, we can remind others that recovery is possible, hope is real, and every life is worth celebrating!

10/14/2026

We need your help! 🙏🏽

The seasons are changing and we are in need of warmer clothing items such as jeans, joggers, leggings, hoodies and warm jackets in both men's and women's. Ideal sizes are small to large.

Our clothing program operates 4/7 days a week, however even if we don't have the staff downstairs we do our best to find items as needed throughout the week to keep our guests clean, dry and warm.

On average since January we have supported 175 people per month from our clothing program alone. That does not count people who come to ask for clothing when the program is not running!

Every item handed out is a donated item from members of the community like you!

Donations can be dropped off from Monday to Friday 9 am - 4 pm. Please ensure they are in good used condition and clean.

Thank you for your generosity and for helping us care for the more vulnerable in our community!

PS this is our wonderful staff member W***y who works as a guest services worker two days a week but then volunteers her time the rest of the week to ensure our clothing program runs smoothly! Shout out to W***y for all her dedication and care for our community! ❤️

10/13/2026

13th Annual Homeless Memorial

A community gathering to remember and honour friends, loved ones, and community members who have been lost through the effects of homelessness, including addiction and compromised health.

📅 Thursday, October 15
🕑 2:00 PM onward
📍 Polson Park (new location by the Bandshell)
🍕 Pizza meal to follow

All are welcome

10/12/2026

We are so thankful for every person and business who donated food, donated time, and donated financially to support our wonderful community Thanksgiving meal we hosted on Friday! Thanks to your generosity, we were able to serve 223 Thanksgiving meals to our community!

Here at the Mission, we have so much to be thankful for each and every day. We have amazing volunteers, an amazing team that shows kindness and compassion daily to our most vulnerable people in Vernon, and we are so thankful for the way we are supported in so many ways by our community and for the way God continues to provide for us and all the work we do!

We are wishing you all a beautiful Thanksgiving Day, and we hope you are able to take some time to reflect on all the things you are grateful for in your own life.

10/10/2026

Today is World Homelessness Day.

Homelessness is more than not having a place to sleep. It can mean facing uncertainty, feeling alone, and trying to navigate life without the safety and stability many of us take for granted. It means navigating a system that does not have easy ways to succeed or to truly get the help that is needed to exit homelessness.

But homelessness does not define a person. Behind every story is a human being deserving of dignity, compassion, connection, and hope.

At the Upper Room Mission, we believe everyone deserves a place to belong. Every day, we strive to offer more than meals, clothing, showers, and shelter. We strive to create a safe place where people are welcomed, relationships are built, and new beginnings are possible.

Today, on World Homeless Day, we invite our community to look beyond circumstances, challenge stigma, and remember that small acts of kindness can make a lasting difference.

Everyone deserves dignity. Everyone deserves hope. Everyone deserves a place to belong. ❤️

Thank you to our staff, volunteers, donors, and community partners who help make this possible.

10/09/2026

Today is the day we gather around the table to celebrate Thanksgiving with our community! Our wonderful staff and volunteers have been busy preparing a special meal, and we’re looking forward to sharing good food, fellowship, and gratitude with everyone who joins us.

Thanksgiving is about more than a meal. It’s about community, connection, and making sure everyone has a place at the table.

Today from 12–2:30 PM

10/01/2026

What kind of community are we building? As we approach the local election, we’re hearing a lot about what needs to change in Vernon; housing, homelessness, addiction, public safety and economic development.

We all want change. But perhaps we should ask a deeper question:
What kind of community do we want to become?

Read our latest blog:

What kind of community will their leadership help us build? We all want change. The question is what kind of change will help more people live with dignity, purpose, connection and hope.

09/30/2026

The events of this past weekend near the former Kamloops Indian Residential School are a painful reminder that the work of reconciliation is not finished.

We stand with Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc, Survivors, families, and Indigenous communities in rejecting racism, hate, intimidation, and residential school denialism. The actions and messaging associated with the recent demonstration were deeply hurtful, particularly in a place connected to the history and ongoing healing of residential school Survivors and families.

We believe that truth matters because people matter.

We believe every person is created in the image of God and possesses inherent dignity and worth. We cannot pursue reconciliation while dismissing the experiences of those who have been harmed, denying painful history, or allowing racism to go unchallenged.

Jesus calls us to love our neighbour, to seek peace, to stand with those who are hurting, and to walk humbly with one another.

For the Upper Room Mission, Truth and Reconciliation is an opportunity to pause, remember and reflect—but it also reminds us that how we treat one another matters every day.

It calls us to listen, to learn, to honour the stories of others, and to approach every person with dignity, humility, compassion and love.

Truth matters.
People matter.
Reconciliation calls us to do better.

09/28/2026

Stronger Together. On Thursday, September 24, most of our team gathered for a wonderful day together at our staff retreat.

It was a great opportunity to step away from the day-to-day, connect with one another, and reflect on who we are and why we do what we do. We spent time talking about our mission and vision, sharing ideas, and brainstorming new ways we can better support the people who walk through the doors of the Upper Room Mission.

Our work can be challenging, but we are incredibly blessed to have a team that cares deeply about our guests and about one another.

A huge thank you to our amazing staff for the compassion, patience, creativity and commitment you bring to the Mission every day. We are better together—and our guests are better served because of it.