The Motivation Power & Achievement Society, MPA was created in the early 1970s in response to the needs of patients discharged from psychiatric hospitals. Because housing and rehabilitation services were basically non-existent many found their return to society traumatic. A group of ex-psychiatric patients living in Kitsilano decided to organize support services for themselves. A small ad was placed in a newspaper announcing a meeting of ex-mental patients interested in bettering their circumstances. The response was unexpectedly enthusiastic and immediately the Vancouver Motivation Power & Achievement Society (MPA) was born.
Self-empowerment was, and is, the cornerstone of MPA's philosophy.
The mission of the MPA is "to promote the dignity and well-being of mental patients".
The meal program at the Community Resource Center is partially funded by the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority and Regional Rehabilitation Services but is nevertheless in need of vegetables and fruit to complement budgets for meat and staples. Every month, the little galley kitchen at the community Resource Center provides up to 600 meals for many of its 6000 members.
And how does all this relate to Dunbar Heights United Church and Stongs?
For nine years, members of the congregation, in partnership with Stong’s Produce Department, have delivered fruit and vegetables three times a week to the MPA Resource Centre on 4th Avenue. Together we have supplied a huge amount of food to an organization struggling to meet increasing demands. Bill Johnson, Gwyneth Lewis, David & Pat Breen, Susan Pond, Maureen Paetkau and Don & Jane Shumka maintain this program as have others before them.
Last year Patricia Alexis delivered 60 Christmas presents from her school students to the Resource Centre. The gifts were in a decorated brown paper bag, a card from a student to “Dear Friend” and inside shampoo, candies, socks or toothpaste and other useful items. The worker in charge wept when these gifts arrived: they were the only presents to put under the tree.
MPA and Pies
Have you bought a pie at church recently? Wonder where that money goes? The answer is, it's used to supplement the supply of fruit and vegetables to MPA on the rare occasions when Stongs don't have anything to send. A group of members led by Susan Pond made those pies using donated fruit. There's good camaraderie on those mornings and fantastic pies on Sunday!
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