Our Philosophy
Our intent is to offer a brief respite from the isolation of poverty, to address food insecurity, to help reduce the trauma of street life and to provide dignity and care to people who experience very little of that in their daily lives. Our aim is to provide warmth, food and hospitality in a secure, calm and safe setting.
Before COVID
What started as an emergency response to homelessness, Out of the Cold unfortunately became an accepted option for “housing” homeless persons in Toronto. Seventeen Out of the Cold programs – non-profit, volunteer-run faith-based or community groups across the city, each operated one night per week from late fall to early spring. We provided nutritious dinners to anyone from the community and a warm, safe place to sleep overnight. For many of our guests, moving from one program to the next each night and bedding down with a blanket and a mat on the floor of a church, a synagogue or a community centre, was better than sleeping rough in the cold winter months or braving the violent culture of city shelters. The invisibility and dehumanization of homelessness and poverty is a degrading experience. Warm contact with welcoming and caring volunteers can play a key role in reducing the physical and emotional risk for those who are isolated and unhoused and for many it is critically important.
From the first week in November to the end of March, First Interfaith Out of the Cold operated every Thursday at St. Matthew’s United Church, 729 St. Clair W. We offered a 4-course home-cooked dinner for 150, nursing care, foot care, clothing, personal hygiene items, socialization activities, overnight shelter and breakfast for 60.
The Pandemic
In 2021/22 and 2022/23, while shelter spaces were unsafe and virtually impossible to access and living rough was perilous, we still could not offer overnight shelter.
But we could address the exploding crisis of hunger in our city. Low-income members of our community facing Toronto’s skyrocketing rents have become precariously housed. Many have been evicted. Food insecurity was exploding. Use of food banks was at historic highs as people sought donated food so they could stretch their funds and stay housed. For an understanding of the depth of the hunger crisis in our city, read “Who’s Hungry” at https://www.dailybread.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/DB-WhosHungryReport-2023-Digital.pdf
In November 2021, we continued to support Ve’ahavta’s mobile outreach efforts and those of Church of the Redeemer’s Common Table program and Seeds of Hope. We supplied these organizations with nutritious dinners and lunches respectively, as well as clothing and toiletries that were collected by students at St. Michael’s, UTS, UCC and congregants at Habonim and Darchei Noam. In January 2022, with an unexpected grant, we were thrilled to return to St. Matthew’s for 4 months to offer a hot outdoor takeaway dinner.
In November 2022, with COVID on the wane, we finally able to welcome guests indoors at St. Matthew’s for our community dinner. It was wonderful to offer such hospitality to our guests once again. After so much isolation for so long, the comradery and warmth in the Social Hall was much appreciated and a pleasure to witness. The addition of tablecloths and flowers on the tables and even accompaniment by live music on a few occasions, took the ambiance up a notch! We were pleased to also offer a take-out option for those who were not comfortable mingling inside. Select clothing items and personal care items were also provided.
And in March 2023, in collaboration with two other surviving Out of the Cold programs and Seeds of Hope, we finally brought homeless guests indoors and out of the cold in a successful 5-week overnight pilot program. The significantly deteriorated mental health and substance abuse issues of the current homeless population and the high costs have made operating an overnight program extremely challenging. We remain committed to making it possible.
In summary, in our 2020-2023 seasons, under challenging COVID conditions, First Interfaith Out of the Cold, along with our community partners,
- provided 28,700 lunches and dinners
- distributed100’s of new warm clothing items and boots, personal care items, PPE and survival gear
- funded or provided 60 nights of shelter and housed 115 people
- had 18, 420 guest contacts
- engaged over 100 volunteers
Our donors included:
- Sonny’s Christmas Trees
- Loblaws (12 Toronto stores)
- MAZON Canada
- First Narayever Congregation
- Greenrock Property Management
- Out of the Cold Foundation
- and hundreds of individual donors
Our in-kind donors included:
- Congregation Darchei Noam
- Congregation Habonim
- Aramark
- Branksome Hall
- AVID Apparel
- Johnson Controls
- The Substance Group
- Toronto Professional Firefighters Association
- Crestpoint
- Midnight Sons
- enVille Catering
- and many friend and family groups who funded and prepared dinners
A tuna salad sandwich, a roast chicken dinner, dry boots or a safe night indoors may seem like a drop in the bucket given the enormous need but they made a real difference to so many marginalized people suffering during impossibly hard times. The feedback we received was overwhelmingly positive. Folks were so grateful for the sustenance they received and to know that someone cared.
2023/24
With inflation, housing unaffordability and lack of sufficient shelter space, conditions for the poor and homeless in Toronto have only become more dire. 1/10 people are visiting food banks, an increase of over 50% since last year. Of those, 31% have gone an entire day without eating. After paying rent and utilities, food bank clients have $6.67 remaining per day. A round-trip TTC fare costs $6.60, leaving $0.07 for anything else (2023 “Who’ Hungry” report). City shelters are turning away more then 250 people per night, who have no where safe and warm to go. (Toronto Star, July 26, 2023)
First Interfaith Out of the Cold volunteers will be hard at work again this season!
From Nov. 7, 2023 to April 30, 2024, on Tuesday evenings, we’ll be back at St. Matthew’s to offer a hearty dine-in or outdoor takeaway dinner. Doors open at 4:00pm when coffee/tea and snacks will be available. Dinner will be served at 6:00pm. We’ll offer after-dinner activities such as bingo, a movie, art and foot care until 9:30pm. Select new clothing items and personal care supplies will be available. Overnight shelter is under consideration.
Our partnerships with The Common Table program and Seeds of Hope will continue too. Our volunteers will provide these two grassroots organizations with 340 lunches per week.
For more information or to make a donation, please contact Sharna Cohen, Program Coordinator at sharna.cohen@rogers.com
 |
Learn more about us! |