Stories to Share

A volunteer program at ShelterCare ensures that men experiencing homelessness can learn valuable skills to help them regain their independence. It also gives them a chance to give back. After losing his job several months ago, James has been staying at House of Friendship’s ShelterCare program. “I had never been homeless before, and I had […]

House of Friendship is excited to partner with Community Healthcaring Kitchener-Waterloo to provide HART Hub services in Waterloo Region. Through HART (Homeless and Addiction Recovery Treatment) Hubs, the Province of Ontario is investing almost $550 million to support people who are experiencing homelessness and living with addiction. Through the program, community members will connect with […]

You might not realize it to look at him today, but Stephen has always been a hard worker. He used to work six days a week at Food Basics in shipping and receiving. “Now, I couldn’t even do a day,” said Stephen. Stephen, now 66, was diagnosed with scleroderma three years ago – a fatal autoimmune […]

Cora-Lee is a survivor. As a child, she endured incredible abuse – from being thrown out a window as a baby, to being treated like a maid by her adoptive family when she was a teenager. Cora-Lee never felt accepted, and never felt like she fit in. With all of this turmoil and rejection, it […]

Dawn Gill’s recent career change might sound like a sharp departure from her long-time role as House of Friendship’s Development Officer. Certainly, her current position as Constituency Coordinator for her Member of Parliament invites a lot of questions about the ins and outs of political life. But she simply sees it as another way to […]

Dilara* came to Canada in search of a better life. She left her homeland of Turkey, after struggling with a difficult, abusive marriage. While Dilara had to leave her adult children behind, her 17-year-old daughter, Melek, joined her for the journey. Their dangerous trek to Canada took them through several countries, including Mexico and the […]

Learning to read was never this much fun at school. Every week, children drop into Courtland Shelley Community Centre as part of Reading Buddies – a program designed to help them improve their literacy. But for the kids themselves, it’s all about the fun. First up, a video, where “Chris the Word Wiz” shares a […]

When Meghety first came to Canada, she found it hard to find a place to belong. If you met Meghety today, all you would see is her wonderful smile. She would tell you how much she loves visiting her favorite place in the world, at our Sunnydale Community Centre. But it wasn’t that long ago […]

Fresh, affordable food isn’t easy to come by these days – and it’s doubly challenging when you are trying to make ends meet with very limited income. That thought was the inspiration behind the Neighbourhood Summer Market, now in its second year at Centreville-Chicopee Community Centre. The program, funded in part by the “Love My […]

Mike Kirkup likes to solve problems. Mike came to Waterloo Region as a University of Waterloo computer science student in 1996 and has spent his entire career working in the tech community, including Research in Motion, as well as his current role as Chief Technology Officer at EnPowered. And through all of these years, there […]