When I retired from my Reserve Force career in April 2025, hanging up my boots for the last time, it marked the end of a lifetime of uniformed public service — first in policing, then in international peacekeeping, and finally in the military.
I believed I had witnessed much of the spectrum of human hardship. What I had not fully appreciated was the quiet hardship taking place every day in my own community.
It began while I was driving past an encampment near Simpson Street. I found myself thinking:
I’ve seen this before.
Not the same circumstances, but a familiar problem: people living without reliable access to something as basic as safe drinking water.
During international service in places such as South Sudan and Palestine, I had seen how quickly water insecurity can shape everyday life.
A line from Scripture came to mind:
“For I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink…”
That moment stayed with me and became the inspiration for I WAS THIRSTY.
What began as a small pilot project in the summer of 2025 grew considerably during our second season in 2026. With the help of volunteers, donors, community partners, and St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, we developed a simple direct-delivery model focused on getting drinking water into the hands of people living outdoors.
But this mission has never been only about hydration.
It is also about dignity, being seen, and human connection.
I will never forget something one of the people we met, Ashley, once said:
“Nobody ever asks me my name anymore.”
That simple comment captured something important. Providing a bottle of water may meet an immediate need, but taking the time to stop, listen, learn someone’s name, and have a conversation matters too.
I WAS THIRSTY remains a volunteer-driven mission. We have no paid staff or dedicated office. St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church provides important administrative support, while volunteers, donors, businesses, churches, and community organizations help make the daily outreach possible.
What began with one vehicle and a few cases of water has developed into a structured outreach effort serving established routes and encampment locations across Thunder Bay.
We track our deliveries, kilometres travelled, volunteer participation, costs, safety concerns, and changing needs so that we can learn from each day and prepare for the next.
I am particularly grateful for the people who have joined this work. I may have started the mission, but it has never been mine alone. Volunteers have loaded vehicles, travelled routes, carried cases of water, met residents, shared conversations, and helped shape what I WAS THIRSTY has become.
Our experience has also taught us that homelessness, water insecurity, and social inequity cannot be viewed in isolation.
Indigenous people are disproportionately represented among those experiencing homelessness in Thunder Bay. We recognize the complexity of that reality and seek to approach our work with humility, dignity, and respect.
Providing bottled water is not, by itself, reconciliation. But showing up consistently, listening, building respectful relationships, and helping address unequal access to a basic necessity can make a small and practical contribution to the broader work of reconciliation.
We have also begun sharing what we have learned. Our Replication Guide and other resources are freely available to communities interested in developing their own locally led water outreach. The objective is not to build a national organization headquartered in Thunder Bay. It is to share a simple idea and practical experience that others may adapt to the needs of their own communities.
Through all of this, the mission remains remarkably simple:
One bottle of water. One person at a time.
Every delivery reminds me that meaningful community service does not always require a complicated solution. Sometimes it begins by noticing a need, deciding to act, and inviting others to help.
If you are reading this, I hope you will see I WAS THIRSTY for what it has become: ordinary people working together to meet a very basic need with consistency, dignity, and care.
Thank you for taking the time to learn about our mission. If you would like to volunteer, support the work, or simply share the story, you are always welcome.
We’ll be on the road.
You’re welcome to join us.
Because someone, somewhere, is still thirsty.
With gratitude,
Lorne Clifford
Founder, I WAS THIRSTY
Thunder Bay, Ontario
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