Emergency Shelter Program Offers a Safe Place for Families in Danger of Homelessness
To help families that are having trouble finding stable housing, The Salvation Army’s Bayside Mission Centre in Barrie, Ont., is currently running a 24/7 Family Emergency Shelter program.
The main purpose of the program is to help clients who have individuals under the age of 18 in their care, to prevent homelessness and work together to find proper housing for them.
“We have seen so many people reach out to us, and they are people like me and you.”
Ayesha Karim, who is a family shelter caseworker and is currently in charge of the program, explained that the causes as to why families have to seek assistance are varied, but that the root problem seems to be a lack of affordable housing.
“I would say the main cause right now is the lack of affordable housing. It is becoming a chronic problem; we have seen so many people reach out to us, and they are people like me and you. It could only take a couple of weeks for anyone to be in this situation,” Ayesha said.
The idea of the Family Emergency Shelter is to offer shelter to clients for 30 days. During this period a housing access worker works together with the guests by creating a plan according to their needs that will help them address the obstacles that may be preventing them from finding a place to live. Clients can receive extensions after the 30 days are up, but they are highly encouraged to use this time to address their needs.
“It could only take a couple of weeks for anyone to be in this situation.”
“We do require guests to actively participate and make sure they are addressing their barriers along with us because that initial step has to be taken by them,” Ayesha said.
When it comes to addressing barriers, it doesn’t only mean tackling the financial issues. It also means addressing other issues such as mental health, addiction, education, and employment.
“We try to look at the root cause of the problem and then we try to address that so that when they get permanent housing, they can maintain it.”
When families find permanent housing The Salvation Army’s service doesn’t end there. Ayesha keeps in contact with former clients and offers additional help such as food hampers if they need them.
Last year the Family Emergency Shelter program housed 20 families. Currently, the families they help are housed in a hotel. However, this is a temporary measure until an ongoing development project in partnership with Redwood Park Communities in Barrie is completed. The new building will serve as the family shelter, and it will have enough units to house 12 families simultaneously.
The Bayside Mission Centre welcomes any kind of support people may want to lend.
“There are many ways people can support. They can volunteer, or support with monetary donations. There are members in the community that like to purchase something specific for the families as a way to donate, so we usually ask them then to make small moving kits for our clients for when they get housed. It gives them a head start for when they move into their new units,” Ayesha said.
According to a recent Salvation Army survey, one in seven Canadians faced housing security challenges in the past year.
By Juan Romero
