Canadian Hero Faces Lawsuits, Lloyd Mackey, Canadian Christianity, November 20, 2008

"Canadian Hero" Faces Lawsuits

By Lloyd Mackey
Canadian Christianity

November 20, 2008

http://www.canadianchristianity.com/nationalupdates/081120abuse.html

"WE OFFER a downtown home to Victoria's homeless and poor. We don't judge them and we are not judging Al (Tysick) either. The matter is before the courts."

This tribute to 'Reverend Al' Tysick appeared in Time magazine, in 2006.

That was the word on Tuesday from Dennis Anholt, chairman of the board of Our Place, whose executive director, Al Tysick, has been named in two civil suits alleging sexual abuse dating to the 1970s and 1990s.

Anholt stressed that while the board was "not judging" Tysick -- known informally in Victoria's homeless community as Reverend Al -- it was taking the matter "very seriously." But as of press time, the executive director has not been asked to step aside from his duties.

The allegations have been a shock to the supporters of Our Place, given that Tysick was named a national hero by Time magazine last year and was given a community recognition award by Royal Roads University in 2006.

But, says Anholt, "It is important not to lose sight of the leadership and compassion Al has brought to his work."

The latest suit was filed in the Ontario Supreme Court on November 11 by Carleton University professor Collett Tracey, 45. Her claim alleges that Tysick "used his position as her pastor, emotional, religious and spiritual advisor and mentor, to facilitate his continued sexual exploitation of her," according to Canwest News Service.

Tysick was, at the time, in the late 1970s, a minister at Woodroffe United Church in Ottawa, and Tracey was part of its youth group.

Previously, on March 2, 2007, a suit alleging sexual abuse in the early 1990s was filed by Jean Perkins, 45. Her 14-page claim said the abuse occurred at the time Tysick was director of Matilda Resource Centre, an eastern Ontario outreach centre to the poor and Perkins was a volunteer there.

The Tracey suit is in the order of $2.1 million -- $1.5 million against Tysick and $600,000 against the United Church of Canada. (Tysick is an ordained United Church minister.)

The Perkins suit is for $1 million. At the time it was filed, Tysick denied the allegations.

None of the claims, with respect to either suit, have been proven in court.

Anholt said Our Place had just completed a facility on Pandora Avenue, built with donations and government help -- three years after the successful merger of two Christian-based agencies, Open Door and Upper Room.

The co-leaders of Our Place, until recently, were Tysick, who had run Open Door, and David Stewart, a Presbyterian minister who had been responsible for Upper Room. Anholt had high praise for the way in which the two leaders worked together, noting that Stewart had retired only two weeks ago.

"We serve 700 meals a day, provide a 'living room' for the homeless and a place to rest, as well as shelter from weather. There are computer and shower facilities. And there are 45 transitional beds, help for people who later move to permanent housing," he noted.

The new facility, built on a spot occupied for years by Victoria Gospel Hall, opened last year. "It is a beacon of hope," said Anholt. "It serves five days, eight hours a day. There is a lot of talk and hope that with community and government, we can move to seven days a week, 12 hours a day. It will relieve a lot of the pressure downtown."