Giving Tuesday | Elliott’s Story
Elliot describes himself as a matchmaker and a talent scout; he is both these things and more. He has an ability to see deeply into people’s personalities and find the best in them. Like a scientist with a microscope, he zeroes in on the talent, the passion, and the unique genius each person has to share, and surfaces it for all to see.
That ability didn’t come without struggle. Elliott recently celebrated his 13-year anniversary of being sober. After reaching the upper echelons of a glamorous LA media lifestyle, he watched it crumble around him in a storm of addiction. Elliott realized he had hit rock bottom when he found himself in the food line at Walmer Road's food bank. “It was a wake-up call,” he explains. “I don’t know how else to describe it.
Yet, experiencing that level of despair was the first step in creating something positive. At Walmer, he began to volunteer at the food bank. Then, drawing on his knack for connecting with people, he became the volunteer coordinator of the centre. He took his talent to Avenue Road, where an epiphany led him to create a new kind of program: Peer-to-Peer.
“It all started when I connected a bike mechanic with a silversmith to solve a problem,” he recalls. “And it was like a lightbulb went off. My cousin David and I launched ‘The Guild of the Next Step’ as a place for people to connect with each other, to talk, and to listen. Roxanne Wright (the chair of the Oasis Board of Directors) was a huge part in helping us shape what it became. Because, in the beginning, we didn’t really know what we were building. We just knew it needed to be built.”
This October, Elliott launched Oasis’ very own Peer-to-Peer program, LivingRoom. LivingRoom is a welcoming space to find support, to meet new people, and to share in open conversation with others. The launch didn’t come easy—but after applying for numerous grants and looking into different funding opportunities, everything finally came together in August 2022.
“That’s when I went to my ODSP worker and said I didn’t need her anymore,” Elliott laughs. “In her 15 years of social service, she said only five people have made it off the system. That’s how I know all of this works.”
As the coordinator of the LivingRoom, Elliott shines as a matchmaker, connecting people not only to each other, but also deeper to the goodness in themselves.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re recovering, not recovered, where you come from, what your LinkedIn says… It doesn’t matter where you’re at. If you’re looking for a space to live, you’ll find it at LivingRoom.”
LivingRoom meets every Monday at 1pm at 1219 Dufferin Street (come to the side door entrance and ring the buzzer!) To learn more, contact Elliott at 647-717-6969.
