In my
neighbourhood there is a small non-denominational church called Southridge. As
we all know churches are supposed to be helpful to the needy, and many are.
Excitingly this church is directly helpful; half of the building is also a
shelter for those in need. The shelter is not the biggest I have seen, but it
is quite large as it is at 35 beds, and they also have separate “dorms” for men
and women. This is part security and part for privacy sake. Men can be more
comfortable around men and vice versa. Southridge is not just about offering
shelter it works in conjunction with many other organizations such as Ontario
works or Niagara Health. The goal is not to just offer a place to stay for
evening but to direct people towards employment and becoming self-sufficient.
They even work with housing to try and get the residents situated in something
permanent.
They
do not only operate as a shelter for sleeping, they also offer meals throughout
the day and someplace warm when the weather becomes unbearable. Southridge will
also regularly schedule even nights at the shelter for the residents. These
event nights are just a movie night, they have even gone to rock climbing and
other interesting and fun activities. This may seem wasteful or expensive but
some of the residents are teens or young adults, and some are young at heart.
This night out can do wonders for lifting a person’s mood or instilling hope in
them. Hope can go a long way in getting the person back on track and feeling
good about themselves. I was impressed to see many people were not depressed
but hopeful and grateful.
As
for the food served, it is quite good. They serve a well-rounded meal with many
options that is clearly appreciated. This made me think back to when I
volunteered with Food Not Bombs, where they will not serve meat as they believe
meat is cruel and abusively obtained. When Food Not Bombs served food to the
people in Montebello park it was quite obvious that, though grateful, they were
missing meat. This is wrong to me to force an ideology on to other people,
especially those that are hungry. Southridge does serve meat and they serve
some non-meat items also (salad) so you can choose to not eat meat if you like.
As for ideologies, it is a church, and that much is clear. They do not seem
forceful about the message and I think part of that has to do with the fact that
the church itself is non-denominational. They do offer a program called
Devotions that is optional and teaches the fundamentals of Christianity, but
since it is optional it is not as if they expect you to be Christian. Overall I
have to say that Southridge is preaching through practice not by words, and I
see no problem with that.
One
last interesting thing about the shelter is that it is not a “walk in” shelter.
As in they will help anyone who needs it so long as they do not appear violent
or under the influence of drugs or alcohol. They door is a buzzer door and you
will need to be let in by a staff member. This may seem excessive but the
safety of the residents is their main priority. Along with safety, they strive
to keep their residents healthy through daily recreational activities.
Southridge has a goal to have residents be healthy and happy, and have found
that many friendships have been forged through recreation, be it sports or just
an outdoor activity. Again this leads to happier people with hope.
All
in all, I was impressed by Southridge. I was hoping to write about how they
force scripture down people’s throats and that they are condescending, but this
was just my atheist side being exceptionally biased. I am happy to say that
Southridge seems like a very positive shelter actively striving to better the
people who pass through their doors.
