Shifra Homes offers a home for young pregnant women or young mothers in Burlington.

By Noor Menhel and Hannah Menhel

As homelessness in Burlington and Canada as a whole are on the rise (see our previous article on homelessness in Burlington here), it’s important to realize the supports and resources that we have available and consider whether or not they are sufficient. After a lot of research and reaching out to members of our community, we have developed a list of free services available to Burlington residents struggling with or on the brink of homelessness. We hope that by writing this article, we can encourage you to support these community outreach services and ensure that residents know where to go when help is needed. 

  1. Halton Lighthouse Emergency Shelters 

Halton’s Lighthouse Emergency Shelters are an excellent place to go to when in need. This service is funded by the Halton Region to help individuals and families regain stable housing. There are two options for housing when it comes to these shelters:  Salvation Army’s Lighthouse Shelter and the Wesley Urban Ministries. The Salvation Army’s Lighthouse Shelter, which is located in Oakville, provides up to 40 days of safe and secure accommodations for individuals who identify as male and are over the age of 16. This shelter is located at 750 Redwood Square, Oakville, ON, and can be accessed through calling the housing crisis line (311) or calling the shelter at (905) 339-2918.

The Wesley Urban Ministries is a not-for-profit that supports those “experiencing poverty, homelessness, and barriers in the community.” In Halton specifically, this program assists families and those who identify as women to find temporary housing and then later supports them in finding permanent housing within 30–60 days. This service is also funded by Halton Region and referrals to the program can be made by phoning the same housing crisis line (311). In addition, this non-profit has a program called the Community Housing Support Worker Program which provides tenant support in “accessing and navigating support services, preventing evictions, and facilitating training for community housing providers to increase their internal capacity.” 

For those who require more support than emergency housing, Halton Region also provides referrals to community groups that offer transitional housing. These are also listed on their website.

  1. Shifra Homes

Shifra Homes is another excellent non-profit that helps residents of Burlington, Halton, and beyond struggling with homelessness. Shifra Homes is a women’s shelter that has two key programs: the residential program and the Seeds of Hope program. Through Shifra Homes’ residential program, young pregnant women are provided a safe, nurturing, and caring home environment. Shifra Homes staff work to ensure that all of the women are happy, healthy, have a high school diploma, a job, cooking skills, cleaning skills, as well as other important life skills. Once this program is completed, the Seeds of Hope program is available to transition the residents of Shifra Homes to their own homes. Shifra Homes provides all of their residents with a home and family that they are always welcome to come back to.

Some of the beautiful babies who found a home in Shifra Homes with their mothers.
  1. Summit Housing & Outreach Programs

Summit Housing & Outreach Programs provide multitudes of housing programs and services with a variety of support depending on the individual and their needs. To begin, Summit Housing offers the case management program, a program designed to provide support and outreach to those experiencing severe mental illnesses. This program aims to promote wellness, independent living, and reduce the frequency and duration of hospitalizations through community-based, and moderate to intensive case management. The support their workers provide ensures that an individual’s rights and abilities are maximized. 

Summit Housing also has the ACT Team (ACTT) program, which provides adults with mental illnesses (such as schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder, and schizoaffective disorder) with “frequent contacts and assistance with activities of daily living, social relationships, employment, housing, medical, financial, legal or addiction issues.” ACTT also offers a variety of long-term support in areas including psychiatric, nursing, social work, occupational therapy, vocational, addiction, dual diagnosis, peer support, and mental health worker expertise. These services can be accessed online through one-Link or contacting the ACT Team at (905) 847-3206. 

Additionally, Summit Housing provides more housing-specific services that include rent-geared-to-income apartments (apartments where the rent is, in most cases, 30% of a household’s income, as defined by the City of Toronto), the Housing First program (a program designed to help move those experiencing homelessness into independent and permanent housing and then provide further support to ensure they continue to improve), and the HOMES program (a program “that provides supportive housing for adults who have been diagnosed with a serious mental illness who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless”).

  1. Halton ADAPT 

Halton ADAPT provides a lot of support for those struggling with addictions. Halton ADAPT provides Addictions Supportive Housing (ASH) through its partnership between Summit Housing (for the geographic area of LHIN 4), and Support and Housing Halton (for LHIN 6). This program provides support to persons who are in recovery and are homeless, at risk of homelessness, or are inadequately housed. This program also provides each recipient with housing subsidies that are active for a period of 12–18 months (based on each individual’s needs), 15 life skills courses, and a full package of clinical/support services. By the end of this program, it is hoped that individuals are able to grow, recover completely, and regain their independence. 

Although we would love to continue and provide detailed information on every support available in Halton, there are too many to cover in a single article, so we have chosen the most popular shelters. We have a complete list of the resources recommended by Halton Region below. Unfortunately, despite the amazing shelters and supports available, most of the shelters are overflowing, which leaves many individuals waitlisted without shelter or housing. The shelters and supports below are in need of support to expand and help more people. The fact is, homeless people’s numbers are increasing faster than the resources. We need to bridge the gap between the two in order to make Burlington and Halton a better place for all. If you or a loved one are able to spare some time, please consider helping out or donating to one of the supports below. Everyone can make a difference. 

Supports: 

Other resources: 

Sources:

ADAPT. n.d. Addictions Supportive Housing (ASH). Url: https://haltonadapt.org/programs-services/addictions-supportive-housing-ash/ (accessed July 26, 2023).

City of Toronto. n.d. Rent-Geared-to-Income Subsidy. Url: https://www.toronto.ca/community-people/employment-social-support/housing-support/rent-geared-to-income-subsidy/ (accessed July 26, 2023).

Halton Region. n.d. Shelters (Family & Individual). Url: https://www.halton.ca/For-Residents/Housing-Supports-and-Services/Housing/Shelters-(Family-Individual) (accessed July 26, 2023).

Shifra Homes. n.d. Shifra Homes Inc. Url: http://www.shifrahomes.com (accessed July 27, 2023).

Summit Housing & Outreach Programs. n.d. Housing & Homelessness. Url: https://summithousing.ca/housing-homelessness/ (accessed July 26, 2023).

Summit Housing & Outreach Programs. n.d. Individual Supports. Url: https://summithousing.ca/individual-supports/ (accessed July 26, 2023).

Wesley. n.d. About Us. Url: https://wesley.ca/about-us/ (accessed July 26, 2023).

Wesley. n.d. Housing Services — Halton. Url: https://wesley.ca/program/housing-services-halton/ (accessed July 26, 2023).