Spring 2023 Newsletter

May 20, 2023 | Media, Press Releases

Elvis is coming to Hamilton!

From ’68 to the Aloha Special join us for a special night out!

Affordable housing is a serious issue in Hamilton, as you probably know. St. Matthew’s House’s 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. You can support 412 Barton by attending the Elvis in Hamilton show! The Elvis in Hamilton show will be a performance never before seen and a night you’ll never forget! Elvis is in Hamilton for ONE NIGHT ONLY on Thursday, June 1st!

Get your tickets now – they’re going fast!

If you cannot make it out to this epic concert, please consider making a donation to support 412 Barton

Land Acknowledgment & Community Planting Day

Saturday, June 3rd, 2023

9 am – 12 pm 414 Barton Street East

With all thanks to Green Cities Foundation, we are excited to ask you join us for a land acknowledgment ceremony and a community planting day! Planting flowers, spreading some neighbour love and lunch! If you are interested in volunteering for the fun and community-driven event please contact sdoherty@stmatthewshouse.ca

United Way Gala March 2023

#LocalLove #UWtogetherstronger

As most of you know, the United Way of Halton & Hamilton has been a huge and continuous supporter of all SMH programs. We are so grateful to UWHH and we were very excited to join in at their annual gala. One of our campaign guests was Valerie who was also featured in the 2022 UWHH campaign. Valerie extends her thanks to all SMH staff for everything they do!

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

Seniors & Street Outreach Support Program

My name is Sarah Hanes, and I recently graduated from the paralegal program at Mohawk College. Being a paralegal appeals to my desire for a meaningful career with social impact. Working with St. Matthew’s House makes me feel I’m making a positive difference in people’s lives. I am at a stage where I am looking to dedicate my career to an organization I feel strongly about, and I want to put my hard work and commitment to the values and ethics of St. Matthew’s House. I look forward to using my legal knowledge to help individuals who rely on SMH and I am excited to be a part of the team.

HOPES currently supports 44 individuals, with the caseload expected to rise significantly in the future. Being partly funded by HCF’s Martin Foundation Fund and Mary L. Cassidy Fund, Sarah will work closely and represent clients at the Landlord and Tenant Board. Sarah’s been working with us through her student placement and has now been hired full-time with our social services team. On her ninth day of employment with us, she helped our team prevent the eviction of a senior who was over $10,000 in rental arrears due to a clerical issue. She worked with the client and City Housing to get the paperwork all sorted and reduced the arrears from over $10,000 down to $1500. In less than two weeks! Her work has been exceptional and we are excited to see her grow alongside our team.

Many of these issues are preventable and can be solved for a relatively low cost, by helping vulnerable seniors maintain their housing, HOPES saves their health, dignity and even their lives.
Andrew Matthews, Manager of Outreach and Seniors Programs

Innoweave’s April Newsletter features St. Matthew’s House

“Having a hard time seeing their overall impact through their emergency services, St. Matthew’s House made the bold decision to close their food bank. With Paul’s guidance, they started exploring assumptions around the root causes of food insecurity and then quick-testing them with seniors they serve. They wanted to understand if their food security intervention was effective or if there were other things they needed to be doing down the line that would be more impactful. Gathering data through the Developmental Evaluation process allowed St. Matthew’s House to discover sector needs and to adapt to those needs. As Paul shared, “Survey data also suggested that there was a lack of awareness of their services among many seniors, especially among equity-deserving groups. That insight led to St. Matthew’s seeking partnerships to better communicate with and service different cultural groups.”

To read the full article: https://mcconnellfoundation-7809469.hs-sites.com/recently-approved-coaching-projects-april-15-deadline-and-de-in-action

Working with St. Matthews House was a great experience. They were truly open to a Developmental Evaluation mindset; asking not just ‘how can we improve our current efforts,’ but also asking, “should we be doing different things.”
Paul Bakker, Innoweave Developmental Evaluation coach

Emergency Food Delivery Program

We want to say THANK YOU!

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone at St. John’s Rock on Locke and Steve and his amazing staff at Fiddies Wholesale Co. for their generous donation of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Having these items available for our emergency food deliveries ensures healthy and nutritious produce in each food box.

We would also like to extend our thanks to everyone at St. John’s Ancaster for SOUPERBOWL, a yearly community event and what a success this year! We are so grateful for the community coming together and helping to fill our shelves.

#wherehopelives

Children’s Centres

Over the course of this year, GROWTH has been the focus and journey we have been on as a team and organization. On April 1st , 2023, we celebrated our one-year anniversary of the amalgamation between St. Matthew’s House and St. Peter’s and we have come so far together. We have worked to bring our two teams together to create community and strength in our organization so that no matter where you turn there is someone there to hear you, share with you, and support you in all the work done day-to-day. Childcare providers do not get into the profession for the money. We have a passion that burns within us that brings us back every day and fosters the work we do. It is why we continue to strive for excellence and provide the best quality care we can to all the families we serve.

This year, we will continue our journey of growth as a team and organization. Some recent accomplishments include Mediation Training to learn how to better work with others, solve conflict, create community and feel “In community” within our organization. We have been supported in EDI training through Empower with Evelyn Myrie, engaging our childcare team in this work both individually and in a group setting. We have experienced and been part of Truth and Reconciliation training. Staff members have shared that having the tools and funding to be supported through these special days of professional learning and having an organization that supports them has been key in their practice. They have shared that “keeping things fresh” has really created a more involved and engaged environment and has created more experiences for the children. This has not only fostered their growth and development but has kept them moving about and interested resulting in less frustration or boredom.

Taking time to stand back and see where there needs to change has really helped to program and learn to observe the interests with deeper meaning in the classroom, making for better engagement and inclusion of all staff. We believe we will be able to evaluate our progress and will expand the quality of our services, enrollment and engagement with families. We look forward to continuing this work and creating a space for families to not only feel safe with the children but creating a space that is welcoming to all members and creates a sense of well-being and belonging.

Thank you,

Taniesha Gerrish, Manager of Children’s Services

Hamilton Childcare Advocacy Group (HCAG)

The Not-For-Profit Child Care Boards Collaborative is a group of board members from Hamilton not-for-profit child-care agencies who are passionate about providing quality and supportive care for the children and their families who are enrolled in child care settings. We feel strongly that providing a child with positive interactions and experiences in their early years is of vital importance.

Our mandate is:

To advocate for the goals of the National Childcare Plan both provincially and locally, paying particular attention to the following goals: accessibility; quality; affordability; inclusion; and evaluating all development through an equity lens.
To promote local training and development through growing a qualified workforce (training and development opportunities) and valuing childcare workers.
To improve public awareness of the value of a National Childcare system by establishing and circulating publicly available data and research; and promoting communications regarding quality childcare.

We are presently working to advocate with Federal, Provincial and Municipal government leaders for change to remuneration, benefits and working conditions for childcare staff. We support the significant role the City of Hamilton is playing in how CWELCC will be established locally, by providing local leadership, developing a local equity lens for childcare development and growth and giving guidance, and promoting dialogue among the 75 local childcare agencies that operate 214 sites in Hamilton.

As a St. Mathew’s House Board Member, I have seen the high quality of care provided by the very dedicated Childcare Staff. One of my reasons for becoming a member of HCAG is to help advocate for the SMH/SP staff of whom I am so proud.

Submitted by: David Savage, Past Chair St. Matthew’s House Board

#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!