Standing over six feet tall, clad in leather and covered in tattoos – Robert Caruso typically looked more like a member of a bike gang than a well-loved community volunteer.
But for “Bobby,” as he was known around the Somerset West Community Health Centre, his trademark rough style was a reminder of past crime and hardship that served as the foundation for a life aimed at helping others.
Caruso died after a long illness late last month. He was 58.
A volunteer at the Somerset West Community Health Centre and advisory member of the City of Ottawa’s Needle Distribution and Retrieval Consultative Group, his death has triggered an outpouring of grief from the community as local organizations struggle with the loss of an irreplaceable member.
“Bobby displayed a rough exterior, tough as nails, loyal to the core, living and breathing the street culture code. Bobby was well respected and in some cases feared in his community.” writes SWCHC member Cathi Savage, in an online tribute posted on the centre’s webpage. “His presence was one that caught attention and demanded respect. If you respected him . . . he would respect you.”
Savage approached Caruso about speaking to at-risk youth about three years ago. She says Caruso spoke honestly with the group, openly discussing his values and past hardships.
It’s hard to imagine his intimidating figure within the rainbow interior of the health centre, surrounded by mothers and elderly couples. But it was his second home, say centre staffers, a starting point for the strong relationships he forged with community members.
The filled pews during his memorial service at St. Luke’s Anglican Church on Somerset Street, proved how solid these ties were.
“There were people from the streets, but there were also doctors, nurses. . . people from our administrative office that didn’t even work with him … and a lot of people from the city of Ottawa,” says Savage.
Rev. Gregor Sneddon, who conducted the memorial service at St. Luke’s, says he and Caruso became especially close when he was admitted into the hospital, shortly before his death.
“When he went into the hospital, he was lonely and asking big life questions,” says Sneddon. “But he was as determined as ever to help other people.”
Sneddon’s fondest memory of Caruso involves one of the last gestures of goodwill made by the volunteer before he died.
“There was a person on the street he had taken in as a son and who wanted to reconnect with his family,” says Sneddon. “So we took him to the bus terminal and Bobby paid to send him on a bus out east. We were quite the cast of characters,” he laughs.
While many came to pay homage to Caruso in the ceremony that took place Sept. 30, others have found alternative ways of commemorating him.
The City of Ottawa has sent a written tribute to his family as thanks for his work with needle distribution and retrieval programs. For its part, the Somerset West Community Health Centre plans on adding a photo of Caruso to a hand-painted mural in the centre’s foyer. Amidst the smiling faces of patients who have passed on, Caruso’s photo, true to his style, will stand out among the rest.
“Bobby was not a man of pictures. He would always say ‘You can just take a picture of my hands.’ ” says Savage. “So that’s what we’ll put up there … his hands, with all his rings and tattoos.”
For now, local organizations remain unsure of how they will replace Caruso. His days in prison and battles with drugs allowed him to establish common ground with struggling community members.
His past troubles also provided valuable firsthand knowledge of the common failings and strengths of community outreach programs. An even larger issue, according to Savage, will be finding others who cared as much as Caruso, a man who allowed destitute strangers to sleep in his home.
Savage says the one thing she wants people to retain from Caruso’s contributions is the notion that even individuals in the worst of circumstances are still capable performing of good deeds.
“People think that clients of social service programs are a burden or menace to communities.” she says. “Bobby came off as someone who’d rob you. But underneath was someone who wanted to make a difference and did."