Stories to Share

House of Friendship’s February Potato Blitz is moving online! This year’s virtual campaign will provide families and individuals in need with nutritious food. Although this annual event looks different than previous years, you can still walk alongside your neighbours in their time of need. Hunger in our community has not gone away. Your caring support […]

Collin has struggled with alcohol his entire adult life. Growing up in an abusive home, Collin always turned to alcohol to ease his fear and anxiety. He would drink every day, as many as 12 drinks in one night. It all caught up to him when he ended up going to jail for impaired driving. […]

Mark has a long history of struggling with homelessness. “The first time I stayed at the House of Friendship was 1985. I’ve been in and out of the shelter life ever since.” He had made some progress back in 1999, getting support to find housing. He moved to London, and was beginning a new life […]

Waterloo Region, we are so incredibly grateful for your support in a challenging year, that we had to take the time to say “thanks!” We hope that you are inspired by the difference your support has made in 2020, and we look forward to brighter and better things in 2021.

For Dulce, being able to stay connected during COVID-19 has been a lifeline for her family. Dulce, a wife and mother of two young children, moved to Canada two years ago from Mexico, and was just starting to get to know people in the Kingsdale community by volunteering at the Neighbourhood Food Distribution program. “That […]

I didn’t think it would ever come to this. I was sitting in the dark on the curb outside House of Friendship’s Shelter. It was a cold fall night, and I was waiting for a bed. I had nowhere else to go. I was tired, and I was scared, and I had one thought running […]

Anna Mae Steinman grew up as part of a strongly connected community. As a young Amish girl, Anna Mae was always surrounded by loved ones. She had cousins to play “house” with – often with the cousins themselves serving as “dolls.” Her aging grandfather, rather than moving to a nursing home, was cared for at […]

There’s a way that you can join the fight against homelessness – and share your compassion with your neighbours! By purchasing a lawn sign from Hockey Helps the Homeless Waterloo Region, not only will you be paying for one bed night at a local shelter, you will also be showing just how much you care […]

For Doug, being able to get food from House of Friendship’s Emergency Food Hampers program has helped him make ends meet as a single father. It makes that much more of a difference during the holiday season. “If it wasn’t for the Christmas Hampers, I wouldn’t have been able to celebrate Christmas with my daughter,” […]

At Sweet Beginnings, we shared how Shelter is being transformed through the ShelterCare model. We have seen incredible results that have captured national attention: overdoses reduced by 50%, 75% reduction in EMS calls, and 56 men housed in six month! ShelterCare is working! With integrated health-care and other supports, men have become healthier and housing […]