The Need for Emergency Shelter and Volunteers
Metro Non-Profit Housing Association and the Out of the Cold Shelter Organizing Committee are looking for dedicated volunteers to help run an emergency shelter this winter.
As many of you know, there is still a need for an emergency winter shelter as there are many individuals who are not able to access the current shelters for a variety of reasons. We have not yet been able to secure funding for this project, but we are committed to working together as a community to make sure there is alternative shelter.
This shelter will be a community based response and due to funding restraints the shelter will need to be staffed by volunteers. All volunteers will receive training and will be supported by several agencies and shelters including Metro Non-Profit Housing Association. We are looking for volunteers to do night shifts at the shelter from mid-February until the end of April, but we are also looking for other types of support and donations as well.
Information Session and Trainings
We invite you to attend an information session that will explain what volunteering at the shelter may be like, how the shelter will be run, what is expected of volunteers, as well as gives you a chance to ask questions. We will also be assessing people's schedules in order to provide free training to volunteers including:
Non-Violent Crisis Intervention
Mental Illness Awareness & Suicide Intervention
Street Health
First Aid
Making the Shelter a Reality
This meeting is also a chance to see if we have enough energy and support to make the shelter happen.
Since this will be a volunteer run facility it is important to know that we have enough volunteers and this meeting is a way for us to gauge that involvement.
(i.e. if only 5 people show up or express interest, the shelter doesn't open)
This is a great opportunity for volunteers to get training and experience working in a shelter.
It is also a really inspiring and bold move to see people pulling together from so many different groups and places in order to support our friends, our neighbours, and individuals who may end up on the streets this winter. The winter shelter is now in our hands. We've done a lot of the groundwork and the need for this shelter is not going away. We need your help to make this shelter a success.
The site for the Halifax local of The Media Co-op has been archived and will no longer be updated. Please visit the main Media Co-op website to learn more about the organization.
