Lisa Kirk will “definitely” be back for another night’s sleep at Beth Emanuel Church in London’s SoHo neighbourhood — even if she did wake up a little stiff on the sanctuary floor Wednesday morning.
The 39-year-old London woman is one of roughly 25 people struggling with homelessness who found warmth inside the church’s walls Tuesday night, as temperatures outside dropped to near -30 C with the wind chill.
“They’re opening the door to me,” she said.
A program that does just that — opens its doors to people who need a place to sleep — is the brainchild of Amanda Barker and Cassidy Jordyn. It’s been up and running for three nights.
“It’s just an extra resource for people,” Barker said. If you have more shelter for people, and spread people out so they have more options, then they feel safer, she said. “It alleviates some of the pressure.”
The church opens up on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday night at 9 p.m. Some people go right to sleep on mats on the sanctuary floor upstairs, Barker said. Others head downstairs for a cup of coffee or tea, or donated snacks. There’s a pile warm winter clothing in one corner, up for grabs for those who need extra layers.
Alexander Marti, who woke up Wednesday and started to sweep the floors as a way of saying “thanks,” described the atmosphere as friendly and family-like.
“It’s somebody showing concern anyways. Somebody who gives a damn. Somebody who cares. It’s alright.”
At the start of the year, Barker and Jordyn — in an effort to mimic Out Of The Cold programs in St. Catharines and Toronto — spent weeks trying to find a church that would collaborate with them on their idea.
“We must have gone to over 50 churches in London,” Barker said. “Basically, everyone said no. That was really disheartening.”
But then they connected with Beth Emanuel Church at 430 Grey St. — a church that has a small congregation with a passion for helping those in need, the pastor says. Within days, and with the help of another group in London named 519Pursuit, the program was up and running.
“We were intending to open two days a week,” said senior pastor and Urban Haven project director Dan Morand. The original idea was to rotate each night through different churches that stepped up to the plate, but when no one else prepared to open the doors, Beth Emanuel Church decided to open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights.
She also credits Allison DeBlair and Amber Irvine, the founders of 519Pursuit, with building trust in the community and helping make their first night a success.
The Middlesex-London Health Unit issued its third cold weather alert on Monday, prompting additional supports from agencies across the city that already serve as warming centres or 24/7 emergency shelters.
Jan Richardson, London’s manager of homeless prevention, said there are 320 emergency shelter beds across the city and an additional 75 for women escaping violence.
On top of that, Richardson said each shelter has overflow beds, and there are 10 “winter beds” available at the Men’s Mission.
Richardson said both the Salvation Army and the Men’s Mission were full Tuesday night. Together, they accommodated an extra 47 people with overflow beds, with room for more at the Men’s Mission.
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