“Elly is small…she’s funny…and she’s maybe the nicest person ever.”
Larissa is a little melancholy, as she is about to have a birthday that will make her too old to access the Operation Come Home drop-in. While she likes being able to come in for breakfast, and see some of her friends, what she will really miss is Elly.
Every Thursday, Larissa and a few others come in to make belts and jewelry with United World Voices (UWV), a charity created and run by Elly Saidi and her husband Carl. What UWV does at Operation Come Home is very simple. It’s a program called ArtWorks, where they take old, used bike tires and turn them into art. Jewelry, belts, dog collars – anyone can join the crew for the morning and make a few dollars in cash right there on the spot.
Elly is in every Thursday, walking youth through the process of hammering out tires, installing metal pieces or earring backings, and creating beautiful designs. Every Thursday, it seems, a youth experiences this process for the first time and leaves feeling great about themselves.
This is thanks to Elly, who has a unique ability to connect with every individual she meets. She’s one of those people who doesn’t use phrases like “hi, how are you” or “what’s up” as small talk. She’s someone who genuinely wants to know how you are. And what is happening with you. She asks, and she listens, and then she meets you where you are that day.
As a result, she has many youth who are devoted to her and to her ArtWorks program. And many staff at Operation Come Home who look forward to Thursdays because that’s when Elly brings a bright ray of sunshine into the drop-in and into their jobs.
Few people who come into OCH as a volunteer have such an easy connection with the youth, and maybe none have such a targeted, heartfelt, and dedicated desire to improve the lives of those youth every day.
Elly has experienced a lot of tragedy, and that informs her deep desire to help others. Most recently, at Christmas time in 2017, her brother Babak got into an altercation with police at the Morrisburg police station, and was shot and killed. Babak had suffered from mental health issues for many years, and never got the help he needed.
In the wake of that tragedy, Elly didn’t give up. Instead, she redoubled her efforts. She sees a little bit of Babak in every one of the youth she helps, and feels a genuine affection for each of them. She remembers how her brother found solace in projects – and every youth she sees is given a little project. ArtWorks becomes a safe space, a respite – an oasis away from the streets.
It may last for only two hours every Thursday, but Elly’s radiant smile and genuine concern stay with those youth all week. Until they can come back the following Thursday, for another two hours with Elly. That’s what Larissa will miss. Two hours with maybe the nicest person ever.
