Now that some costly repairs are behind them, officials with My Sisters’ Place are looking at expanding services, including the possibility of opening a 24/7 women’s shelter in London.
The organization that helps women in need has running water again after encountering plumbing issues that meant they couldn’t offer bathrooms, laundry or food preparation services at the location on Dundas Street.
Already facing financial difficulties, the shelter was unsure how it would cover the repair costs which were estimated to be between $40,000 and $50,000. The organization turned to the community for help and within weeks the London Police Association donated $10,000.
“That really captured I think the community’s attention and from there, donations began pouring in,” said Susan Macphail, director of community and women’s programs with My Sisters’ Place at Canadian Mental Health Association Middlesex. “I’m so happy to report that because of the incredible generosity of our London community, we have been able to match the cost of the repair bill so that will not be a burden to us.”
In fact, Macphail estimates donations from the community exceeded the repair bill by between $10,000 and $15,000. She said the funding will be re-invested into their services for women including evening programming that was recently cut.
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READ MORE: My Sisters’ Place appeals for Londoners’ support in face of costly repairs
“Because of the plumbing and also because of our own financial restraints, we sadly made the decision to close evening programs so we’re looking at being able to probably re-open that for the summer at least, so more services for more women who are in need, and that’s a really happy ending to this story,” she said.
Following such an outpouring of support from the community in the face of their financial issues, the organization is also considering opening a 24/7 drop-in shelter.
“We know that not only would we be assisting women who are completely homeless, but we would be preventing homelessness for women who may be in their homes but for various reasons need support in the middle of the night and we don’t want to see them going to the ER, we want to see them being able to be supported and stabilized so they can return to their homes,” Macphail said.
But Macphail noted in order to make a 24/7 drop-in shelter a reality at My Sisters’ Place, the city and other community partners would need to step up and offer further support. She suggested it could be added to London’s homelessness prevention plan.
My Sisters’ Place provides services to between 100 and 140 women per day. Macphail said most have experienced abuse, trauma, poverty or are dealing with addiction or mental health issues.
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