In 1989, a husband-wife duo felt compelled to help individuals living on the street in a better way.
Julie and Ken Kissick went on to start Streets Alive Mission, which has followed that goal in Lethbridge, Alta., for the past three decades.
“We know the heartbeat of Streets Alive has always been to love people well and bring them honour, no matter where they’re living in their life situation,” said Julie.
Now, the organization is moving into a brand-new modern facility on the north side of Lethbridge.
“We’re looking forward for what we’re going to be able to do. We have a wonderful facility that allows us to expand and grow, but also deliver the services in a more efficient manner,” said Ken.
The new location will combine everything from their current locations.
“We were able to design it the way it flows for us,” said Ken. “We have the restoration centre, we have the PIN bank, we have moved the repurpose centre in here.”
Get daily National news
Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
Chief operations officer Cameron Kissick says the community did their part in this process.
“The list of people to thank is longer than Santa’s naughty and nice list right now because of the amount of support it took to get us here. As we’re (readying to open), I’m excited for the impact we’re going to be able to make in this new location.”
The building is directly across from the homeless shelter and Lethbridge Soup Kitchen, meaning clients are able to access several essential services all within a stone’s throw.
“It gives us the ability to collaborate and cooperate to hopefully take ahold of the people and move them out of the cycle they’re in, into something much better for them,” said Ken.
Currently, around 800 people use the ministry services of Streets Alive, while another 300 use the repurposing centre and around 1,600 use the clothing bank every month.
“We expect to see that number increase slightly because there is a group of people who don’t make their way to our current location who will likely access services now that we’re here,” said Cameron.
For Julie, it means a lot to see her once-fledgling charity grow into such a far-reaching organization.
“To be able to have our own space, our own home means everything to our hearts.”
She says that no matter who runs Streets Alive in the future, the mission will endure.
“Whether Ken and I are here, this place is going to move forward in continuing to minister the most broken people in our community and that means the world to us,” she said.
Streets Alive plans to move into the new location on Monday.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
