Winter 2023 Newsletter

Feb 15, 2023 | Media, Press Releases

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Adopt a Family/Senior Holiday Program

Together as a community we supported 426 seniors and 421 families. WOW! Parents, children and seniors were given the opportunity to celebrate with plenty of gifts and a holiday meal at a time when so many didn’t know if it was going to be possible as this year brought some hardships to many.

St. Matthew’s House would like to take this opportunity to say thank you. Every year your thoughtfulness and generosity surpasses every expectation and goal that I set out as Coordinator. Even though our holidays this year looked a little different I do hope you all had a chance to sit back and remember that because of you, your family, co-workers, parish and or friends we made the magic of the holidays much more brighter for so many in our community.

Madeleine Bond
Adopt Holiday Program Coordinator

Demolition has Begun!

Last photo taken of both original SMH buildings (2023)
414 & 412 Barton Street East

The picture above is the last photo of our 412 Barton location. Although we all have so many memories of this building and how it has helped form and shape what St. Matthew’s House has become, we are excited to announce that demolition has begun and will be ongoing for the next few months. The property at 412 Barton will be converted to 15 deeply affordable units. They are intended for seniors facing homelessness, with a special focus on Indigenous and Black older adults 55+, designating 50% of the units for women. For more information on how to support 412 Barton, please check out our 412 Barton page.

Thank you Sharon & Kubota

Sharon is the founder and president of Helping Hamilton Homeless Organization. She won $5000 through Kubota Canada’s Community Hero of the Year Award. “Part of the prize is to direct it to a charity of my choice,” Sharon says. “I wanted to directly help street outreach clients since that’s what I do as well.”

The Housing Focused Street Outreach Team meets people where they are and assists individuals with connecting to support services related to health care, income, housing and other community agencies as needs and goals are identified by the client. HFSO has a strong presence in various parks, the downtown core and other areas where unsheltered individuals stay.

Food donations can be dropped off at 705 Main Street East – ramp door off of St. Claire Ave. Monday to Friday 9am – 3pm

Seniors & Street Outreach Support Program Spotlight

Welcome Andrew Matthews as our New Senior Supports Manager

Andrew Matthews (far right) seen here with SMH staff Nozwelo, Spencer, Molly and community partner Jan Lukas

Andrew has worked for St. Matthew’s House a little shy of five years, working in multiple positions on the Seniors side of the organization. He began working in our Senior’s Day Centre program, moved on to work as the Crisis Intervention Support Worker, and pivoted to emergency food delivery during the start of the pandemic. In the summer of 2020 he joined the Street Outreach team, where he worked for two years supporting clients who are sleeping rough and living in encampments. He is excited to bring his knowledge and skills to the Seniors Team, and helping develop and guide our programming as we work towards the exciting new 412 Barton project later this year.

Paralegal Program at St. Matthew’s House

The Seniors Team has also received funding from the Federal Government via the City of Hamilton to hire a Paralegal Support Worker, who will be able to support our seniors with legal matters. A Paralegal worker can provide income support, tax support, and affidavits, and liaise with the Landlord and Tenant Board to help prevent evictions as well as secure more favourable outcomes with our clients. St. Matthew’s House is excited to begin this new program, and we will be working with the Hamilton Community Legal Clinic to develop the most effective possible support we can provide!

CTV’s The Social stopped by!

There is no better way to welcome the New Year than by having the privilege of welcoming CTV’s daytime talk show The Social to our Seniors Supports Warehouse. St. Matthew’s House staff and volunteers, Arlene and Shawn, had a wonderful day chatting with Jess and the CTV team about all the amazing things SMH does!

Watch on YouTube

#wherehopelives

Message from Chair of Our Board

Whether you have a good idea of who we are and how we function or only know a little bit about us, we thought it would be useful to understand what our most pressing needs are right now – and more importantly – how our programs and services are working to address them.

Right now, one of our top priorities is to provide much-needed assistance to the growing number of older adults 55+ who are facing isolation, food shortages, housing and financial insecurities. There are many reasons so many find themselves in need. Government supports including pensions and other subsidies are simply not keeping up with the cost of living, especially with the massive inflation we’ve been experiencing this past year. Coping with the coronavirus and its unique challenges has taken its toll on the overall health and well-being of older adults (55+) in particular.

To tackle this array of issues, St. Matthew’s House employs a variety of wide-ranging initiatives. Our staff members directly engage with older adults in need every day. They connect them to relevant healthcare services and income support and work hard to help them remain adequately housed. We also run a robust food security program that provides older adults 55+ with fresh, appropriate and nutritious foods to meet their needs. This time of year is especially difficult for many older adults to get out to gather the provisions they need. So we reduce transportation barriers by delivering food and other necessities directly to their doors.

You should also know that we are keenly aware that our clients come from diverse groups, Knowing this, we apply an equity, diversity and inclusion lens (EDI) to all that we do, as we strive to be inclusive, respectful and sensitive to the unique needs of all. As a charity, we have to continually raise funds through grants from government agencies, corporations and other service organizations and foundations. But we still rely heavily on the generosity of individuals like you. Whether you can afford $20, $2,000 or more, we are always grateful for anything you are able to give. Please consider giving what you can to help. Together we can create opportunities and build places for people to thrive – not just survive.

We invite you to learn more and support us by visiting www.stmatthewshouse.ca/donate-funds.

Mary Burnett

Board Chair

Children’s Centres

Here at SMCC we have been growing all our locations!

Our childcare teams have been increasing in capacity. As inquiries increase, we now offer care to more families at our Before and After School location at Adelaide Hoodless Elementary School. In our locations, we have waitlists that are, on average, 15 to 20 families long and we have families asking about space in 2024 We have been able to offer families early start dates and transition plans throughout locations, no longer having to turn down families with infants that are inquiring about care within our St. Peter’s locations (as we only offer Toffer and Preschool care). We have been able to share and spread out resources amongst the childcare team and really expand on skills and knowledge together, We have had the opportunity to bring all locations together as one team to participate in professional development and growth as a part of the organization.

Along with organization changes, we have opted into the Canada Wide Eearly Learning CHild Care System (CWELCC) and we have seen great support from the City of Hamilton and our community with this. Our finance team has done wonders getting the numbers put together, rebate cheques out, and supporting the childcare team with invoicing and getting our families lower rates. We have seen inquiries increase by 70% with this system in place and current families inquiring about moving to full-time now that care has become more affordable. In the beginning, this is something that we did not believe was going to be an option for some of our Before and After School families. With the age cap being 6 years old, they have been receiving support and we are already down to$12 a day for quite a number of families.

We have been working with Green Cities Foundation to improve our playground at our Barton Street location and the work is amazing. We have a beautiful new playground, amazing first steps toward our new parking lot and a start made on our seating area. Families have been very excited to see the new improvements along with our educators and children. The team has enjoyed being able to support the children through play and utilize the space for so many more engaging activities and altering programming to fit the space. The classes have enjoyed being able to get out together and I have seen such an increased sense of morale and cooperation since the renovations. We look forward to continued work with Green Cities Foundation and continuing to watch the change develop as it progresses.

Taniesha Garrish

Child Care Manager

Green Cities Foundation

Adam van Koeverden, Member of Parliament for Milton, joined representatives from the Green Cities Foundation on January 19 to celebrate $250,000 in funding from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), through the Canada Community Revitalization Fund for our flagship #GreenMyCity project at St. Matthews House in Hamilton, Ontario. With the additional financial support from FedDev Ontario, plus sponsorship from RBC Insurance and help from landscape professionals, Green Cities Foundation has been able to improve the children’s playground with new shade sails, walkways, fencing, trees and shrubs, garden beds and seating areas. A green community gathering space will also be constructed to support older adults facing isolation and children attending a childcare program in the Barton Village area.

-Green Cities Foundation

#wherehopelives

Food Drive Kits

If you are interested in hosting a food drive in support of our Senior Emergency Food Deliveries, please reach out to mbond@stmatthewshouse.ca for more information or go to https://stmatthewshouse.ca/helpus/organize-a-food-drive/ to download a food drive kit. It has everything you would need to host a fun and successful FOOD DRIVE!

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