Getting proper dental care is a challenge for many, but for aging people who are unhoused, that challenge is even greater. With this month of April recognized as Oral Health Care month, we are reminded of how important such care is to marginal populations like the men served by Haven Toronto, and at the Modern Mystery School we are doing our part to help.
For someone in a dark place, sometimes the most important thing to have is hope, and hope is in abundance at Haven Toronto, a drop-in center where homeless, marginally housed and socially isolated elder men can feel safe, establish friendships and thus become part of a community. A vital service that Haven Toronto provides is dental care for these men, which not only provides comfort and eases pain, but heads off other serious health problems.
That’s why Modern Mystery School leaders Dave and Franca Lanyon chose to gift Haven Toronto with a substantial gift of $30,000, specially dedicated to the dental care it provides.
The Modern Mystery School is honoured to be working with Haven Toronto and aiding its support of these men. As the only organization of its kind in Canada to serve homeless men over age 50, Haven Toronto corrects a massive societal imbalance.
“In the mystery school tradition’s Hermetic teachings, the masculine and feminine are respected uniquely but equally,” Dave Lanyon said. “It is a part of our World Peace mission to bring unity between the two, and so dignity and hope to all individuals who need it. The ability to Know Thyself is garnered not only through study and self-reflection but more importantly through service, by helping people remember their divinity so they can live joyful, successful and peaceful lives. Aiding Haven Toronto’s dental care program helps us accomplish these goals.”
Franca Lanyon said she was moved upon learning that 35 percent of people surveyed in homeless shelters avoided eating due to dental problems, and that 97 percent needed dental treatment overall.
This is a silent crisis that Haven Toronto is addressing. Franca Lanyon has said that stepping up to help them do this is in clear keeping with our mission to spread love and caring, and here is this opportunity right at our front door.
Haven Toronto’s Director of Development and Community Relations, David Wannan, officially received the cheque from Dave and Franca during the Warriors of Light program in Toronto in February 2023. At this program were Ritual Master initiates from all over the world, who were inspired and excited to witness this exchange. Wannan expressed thanks for the donation and said it will go a long way toward easing what for many his organization serves amounts to a personal crisis too often unaddressed.
In addition to causing pain and discomfort, neglected teeth and gums can create other health problems, some of them quite serious. Wannan has said that this gift from Dave and Franca Lanyon will help us to help others in a way that can truly make a difference in their quality of life.
“This is only the beginning,” Dave Lanyon said. “Modern Mystery School will continue working in the future with Haven Toronto to support these men, in renewing their hope, so that they know they are respected, cared for and loved.”
Dave and Franca Lanyon, the Modern Mystery School HQ Admin team as well as leadership, instructors and students are continue to raise funds for continued projects for Haven. Stay tuned for more.