Right now, London's homeless need our help more than ever before. While life as we know it has changed drastically, the fight continues for our community’s most vulnerable and the frontline workers that serve them.
Through the COVID-19 pandemic, our partner beneficiaries in London have faced a number of increasing costs including additional staffing to help support the shelters high volume of guests, sanitation costs due to the increased scope and frequency of cleaning, personal protective equipment (PPE) to help keep their front-line staff protected and vulnerable residents safe and higher food supply costs as a result of more and more Canadians utilizing the system.
Merrymount Family Support & Crisis Centre is an accredited Children’s Mental Health Centre that provides around-the-clock family capacity building and support services, for children aged 0 to 12, across Middlesex, Elgin and Oxford counties. Merrymount provides a wide-range of crisis, respite and early intervention mental health services and programs to strengthen children and their families. All Merrymount programs are tailored to the individual needs of the child and to the needs of the family to support the child.
In the summer of 2001, a group of youth activists and homeless individuals formed a tent city in a downtown park to raise public awareness of a desperate situation. The community experience that developed led to the initiation of the Unity Project a shelter service with a peer-supported community model. Unity Project aspires to serve people seeking shelter and support by providing 24-hour access to an involved and caring staff and their support services.
Mission Services of London is a non-profit, social service agency committed to serving the London and area community with compassion and dignity. Their focus is on assisting men, women and children who struggle with poverty, homelessness and crisis, as well as individuals with addiction and mental illness. They provide safe shelter, nutritious food, seasonal clothing, outreach, counselling and support services. They also provide hope for a different tomorrow.
Research about Homelessness suggests:
Source: The London Free Press