Fantastic news from the Wesley Centre

For some time now, Wesley Centre and other emergency shelter providers in Hamilton have been working on transforming the way we work with homeless men and women. The results of a number of years of work have been dramatic. More individuals are being housed and staying housed. As a result, shelter numbers have been dropping consistently for the last few years. This work is part of an initiative we are calling the “Shelter Blueprint”.

One of the resulting changes from the implementation of the Shelter Blueprint is that Wesley Centre will become a day-time drop-in only as of August 1st, 2010. That means Wesley Centre will no longer provide emergency overnight shelter which we have been doing since 1991.

This is a fantastic news story. Not just for Wesley Centre, but for the shelter system as a whole. Over the last five years, fewer and fewer people are accessing emergency shelters and the reduction in the demand for shelter beds is indeed cause for celebration. By implementing innovative and effective housing programs with critical support systems, we are achieving a decrease in the quantity of individuals requiring emergency shelter. This means there are more shelter users becoming housed and less homeless people on the streets and seeking safe refuge.

While change is never easy, this is a really good news story. Social service organizations often talk about “putting themselves out of business”. Well, in a small way we are doing that. This move towards a more justice based approach is one that feels really good – despite the very real pain of the transition we are entering into with our staff, clients and volunteers.