Homeless in Canada

By Meghan Wood & Audrey Martin

Photo courtesy of Union Gospel Mission, Vancouver

OUT of the Cold began in Toronto in 1988, after the death of a homeless man ­ known simply as George ­ motivated students and a chaplain at the Roman Catholic St. Michael's High School to serve the homeless of their city.

Previously, they had been providing the man with blankets and sandwiches. George "hung out in the local supermarket parking lot; he died a few months after they had been serving him," says Scott McKean, project manager for Out of the Cold in Toronto.

After George's death, the students worked to open a mall storefront on St. Clair Avenue.

"There was an [increase] in the number of homeless at that time," McKean adds, "and Out of the Cold was an emergency response to those needs."

But the situation that brought Out of the Cold into existence 17 years ago never seems to disappear.

The need for shelters and programs for the needy are constantly being thought up, planned and implemented right across Canada.

Toronto

Twenty of the 60 program locations Out of the Cold now runs in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) are overnight shelters. In the GTA, where homeless estimates run as high as 32,000, approximately 9,000 volunteers serve the needy in churches, synagogues and Islamic centres.

Funding is provided by each of the sites, other churches, community groups and individual donors.

McKean says his community loves to help. "Several companies donate to us. We have over 3,000 volunteers, which speaks for itself."

Overcoming a lack of services and funds from the city, plus a lack of housing, "takes all the stakeholders coming together to discuss solutions and trying to implement them," he says.

"It's important to acknowledge the volunteers who operate the programs," McKean stresses. "It's exciting [that] they'll be part of working toward the solutions needed."

Out of the Cold has spread to cities in various other Canadian provinces. The Hamilton Out of the Cold website has instructions on how to start a branch in any community:

HamiltonOutOfTheCold.freeservers.com

While many Canadians see the importance of such initiatives, there is often opposition. Out of the Cold's fall 2004 newsletter summarized a Toronto City Council debate on the city's homelessness by writing: "The city's homeless were called 'embarrassing, frustrating, bad for tourism and lazy.'"

Kris Williams, supervisor at Touchstone Youth Centre in Toronto, receives constant opposition from the neighbours of this 30-bed emergency shelter for homeless teens who have experienced abuse and violence. The non-profit organization, he says, is "non-religious."

But Williams says he does see some "religious" people ­ including Christians ­ turn up their noses at youth who are seen leaving Touchstone. He says many such people don't want the centre ­ which has been around for 14 years ­ in their "vicinity."

"A lot of people turn their backs on it," he says. "People often pass judgment and think they are better than [the homeless]. Mental health is a huge problem; the ones who are less aggressive and violent slip through the cracks. The city needs to intervene more and see what it takes to run this place."

Photo courtesy of Union Gospel Mission, Vancouver

Edmonton

In the prairies for the past several years, churches have banded together under the banner 'In from the Cold,' to provide food and temporary shelter to the homeless. The initiative has been especially prominent in Calgary.

In Edmonton, where approximately 2,000 people are homeless, one of the key facilities is Hope Mission. Lisa Shorten, volunteer coordinator for the mission, says she and her colleagues look at the problem of homelessness on an individual basis.

"Christ himself said that the poor would always be with us," says Shorten.

"An increase in affordable housing and a higher minimum wage would certainly help a large number of people, and we continue to offer Christ as a way to heal the wounds of addiction, mental anguish and abuse that often lead people to the streets," she said.

Surrey

In Surrey, B.C., a new outreach called the NightShift Ministries Society is emerging, backed by well over two dozen churches.

Currently without a facility, this group of volunteers has been asked by the city to provide a Community Impact Study before its application to operate an emergency shelter from a local building will be permitted.

The study will cost between $5,000 and $10,000 ­ to be paid for by a group which is only now developing a board and management team. In the meantime, the group is serving meals from under a tent on property owned by Surrey.

"The municipality is leaving us alone for now, because we have agreed to the study," says NightShift founder MaryAnne Connor. But she said the business community has expressed concerns.

Rather than provide an an overnight shelter, NightShift would operate from 9 am to 11 pm. City councillors and business people in the area are concerned about where street people will go after the doors are shut each night.

"I come from a business background and understand the concerns . . . but that's where the street people are," says Connor.

The ministry's goal is to operate not merely as a soup kitchen or 'band-aid,' but as an agent of change and a place of referral for those in need.

If the building is approved, NightShift will offer Bible study, counselling and referrals to rehabilitation agencies for people with addictions.

The initiative has the support of the Surrey Pastors' Fellowship, which represents approximately 30 churches.

Alan Simpson, a spokesperson for the fellowship, said the group is working to develop an infrastructure for the organization, to catch up with the work that is already being done.