At House of Friendship, we are committed to continuing to serve our community in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic in a way that will also take into account best practices, as recommended by public health officials, to ensure the safety of everyone.
Knowing that the current situation is ever-evolving, we will be constantly reassessing the situation and providing regular updates about our services, as well as proactive measures we are taking to protect staff, program participants, and the community as a whole.
SERVICE DELIVERY
- Shelter – we have ramped up support for those who are homeless during the COVID-19 pandemic. We continue to provide service every day, 24 hours a day to men in our community who are experiencing homelessness, along with health-care supports, using the ShelterCare model. We are adapting approaches to manage the safety of participants and staff based on Public Health recommendations. We have created an isolation location that allows medical support for those who are homeless and needed additional supports.
- Addiction Treatment Services:
- Residential Addiction Treatment – operating at half capacity due to COVID-related congregate living requirements. There is no change to intake or service delivery;
- Day Treatment Programs – is operating full programming on Zoom, and will be offering limited face-to-face groups in the fall (watch for service flyers);
- Rapid Access Addiction Clinic/Community Withdrawal Support – RAAC service is fully operational, with both face-to-face* and virtual service appointments available, CCWS is face-to-face* or virtual on a case-by-case basis;
- Concurrent Supportive Housing – Virtual, but face-to-face* available on a case-by-case basis;
- Community Counselling – Virtual, but face-to-face* available on a case-by-case basis.
* face to face requires adherence to COVID protocols, including physical distancing and use of PPE.
- Emergency Food Hampers – We are providing regular service, with our Emergency Food Hamper program open Monday to Friday, from 9:30 am to 4 pm. Please call ahead to book an appointment. Call: 519-742-8327 x 2. Please note the procedures have changed – we now request that you book an appointment to pick up your hamper and this will be done by curbside pickup – when you arrive on site, you can call again and your hamper will be made. available.
- Community Centres- (Sunnydale, Centreville-Chicopee, Courtland Shelley, Kingsdale, Chandler Mowat) programs are closed, with some virtual programming.
- Neighbourhood Food Distribution is happening at the following community centres, with public health protocols in place:
- Courtland Shelley – Tuesdays, 11 am to 12:30 pm;
- Forest Heights – Tuesdays , 11:30 am to 1:30 pm (Starting November 10, 2020);
- Kingsdale, Wednesdays, 9:30 am to 12:30 pm;
- Centreville Chicopee, Wednesdays, 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm;
- Sunnydale, Thursdays, 9:30 am to 11:30 am; and
- Chandler-Mowat, Thursdays, 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm.
- Our Main Office at 51 Charles St. E. – will be closed to the public, but we are still receiving deliveries, and staff are available to answer phone inquiries at 519-742-8327.
- Family Outreach Program – Currently, Family Outreach Workers are still serving families across Waterloo Region by phone, text, email, and virtual meetings. If you have children 17 and under, are living on a low income, and would like to get connected to a Family Outreach Worker, please contact us through our website www.familyoutreach.ca or call 519-742-8327 x 240.
VOLUNTEERS, FOOD AND IN-PERSON DONATIONS
We have limited volunteer positions available at this time. To see our current opportunities, please visit www.houseoffriendship.org/volunteer.
We are currently accepting donation of items to support our Shelter program during limited hours and by appointment only. Please visit www.houseoffriendship.org/donations to learn more.
PLEASE CONSIDER AN EXTRA DONATION TODAY
The population we support at House of Friendship who are struggling with homelessness, hunger and living on low income will be affected in greater ways during this pandemic. Will you consider an extra gift today, to help those who are facing increased needs at this time? Some of our supporters may not be able to give at this time, as they too are impacted by a loss of income. Thank you for your extra gift during this difficult time!
