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Longtime Salvation Army officer takes over top job in Barrie

Maj. Bruce Shirran, who was ordained in 1989, says there are always challenges around mental health and homelessness in every community; 'The problems are the same — the faces are different,' he says

Maj. Bruce Shirran may be the “new guy” on the block at the Salvation Army Barrie Bayside Mission, but he’s anything but new to the job. 

Shirran, who has taken over the role of executive director for the downtown shelter now that Maj. Stephanie Watkinson has moved on, has been an officer with the Salvation Army for more than three decades, having worked across the country in a variety of different roles.

“I grew up in the Salvation Army, right from childhood,” he tells BarrieToday.

He applied to become a commissioned officer in 1987 and was ordained in 1989.

“On July 1, I will be starting my 34th year," he points out. 

Shirran spent 11 years in Newfoundland as a pastoral charge in churches before moving to Windsor, Ont., where he spent several years in the pastoral church ministry. He then moved into the social services ministry and has spent his career moving between the two.

Shirran spent six years working at the Salvation Army Booth Centre in Ottawa before he was reassigned to the Salvation Army Community Church in Belleville. While there, he was tasked with bringing the organization's social service ministry under the umbrella of the church.

“That was supposed to be a seven year project and we completed it in five.”

Shirran also spent three years leading the New Life Centre and the Women and Children’s Family Shelter in Sudbury.

In March, Shirran joined the team in Barrie as the assistant executive director with the intention of moving into the director role full-time In June once Watkinson left to take over her new role in North Bay.

“Many of the services that the Salvation Army provides in the shelter system are pretty standard. There’s nothing really different in this particular shelter… other than this one is probably smaller than some of the ones I have served in,” he said.

Shirran says he hopes to bring his knowledge and experience gained from other shelter settings to help continue to provide effective and efficient services that we have to the community.

“The reality is, wherever we go, there’s always homelessness and there’s always the challenges of people who struggle with mental health,” he said. “Those things don’t change much across the Canadian territory outside of the fact that the numbers may increase or decrease depending on where you are.

"The problems are the same the faces are different.”

Shirran said his hope coming into this role in Barrie, is to determine and assess the organization’s processes and the programs provided, and to see if there’s a way to improve or enhance what’s being done. He also plans to continue the work his predecessor has done working closely with the city, police services and other social service agencies and partners within the community.

“Maj. Stephanie has done a tremendous job breaking down those silos and I think from that perspective she and I are of the same mindset. The reality is we are not here to try and do things on our own. We are here to support one another and certainly to develop partnerships with the community but also with providers,” he said. “We want to be able to bring the best that we can to the needs of the community and there’s only so much any one agency can do, but together we can accomplish a lot more.”

While he's hesitant to say what makes him unique in this role, Shirran does acknowledge that he’s been around long enough to be able to see a lot of different things over the years. 

“I’ve had so many experiences that helped me on a day-to-day perspective when it comes to bringing support to not only the people we serve, but the people I work with as well," he said. 

The 66-year-old grandfather of two is also looking forward to having more quality family time with his wife, daughter and two grandchildren.

“My daughter and her family reside in Barrie… and my wife is retired. Our intention is to retire in Barrie and this will become where we settle at the end of the day.”



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