Lisa Deyoung wants Viola’s Place to be more than somewhere warm on cold nights for those in crisis. She wants it to be a place of hope.
That’s why, as shelter manager, she and board members are currently working to transform the shelter so it can offer resources to people before and after a crisis, so they can get their life on track and keep it there.
Viola’s Place opened in October 2018, but a shelter had been operated out of the same location years prior under the management of the Life Center church.
Deyoung has been shelter manager since March 2019 and has seen first hand the need in the community.
This past year was particularly challenging as shelters across the province were forced to reduce capacity to meet safety protocol associated with COVID-19. At Viola’s Place that meant going from eight beds to four. Deyoung said she often fielded calls from around the province from people desperate to find somewhere to go.
Many nights she was forced to turn people away.
“It was hard,” she said. “We also lost a huge portion of our volunteers when COVID first started so we were rushing around trying to find the manpower to keep our doors open. We had some older volunteers who it wouldn’t be safe for them to be out at the peak of COVID."
But they’re looking at 2021 as a year in which they can increase their programs for those in the community.
“We got funding from the Department of Municipal Affairs and Housing to put in a hub," Deyoung explained.
With that money they are completely renovating the upstairs of the building, a large portion of which had formerly been used as a church auditorium but in recent years only used for storage and or board meetings.
The money will be used to install a full-sized kitchen.
“This will be used to assist in life skills training,” Deyoung explained. “We will be offering cooking classes, and will be able to prepare meals for shelter clients and community members who may need food support.”
Also as part of the hub, they will be creating a daytime drop-in centre to be a help to more than just homeless people.
“We feel the hub will allow us to connect with vulnerable community members who are experiencing housing insecurities,” Deyoung said. “We will be focusing on eviction prevention, as well as supporting individuals with their needs to ensure they remain housed and have access to all necessary supports. This will provide us with the opportunity to collaborate with other community organizations and navigate individuals to additional community supports as needed.”
Some other features of the new space will include an accessible shower and washroom, laundry services, and computer stations with internet and phone access.
Another aspect of the renovations will be a large community room which will be open for use by social groups such as Narcotics Anonymous and other mental health and addiction support workshops.
“The added renovations to our building will also make our building safer, more accessible, and open up a wide variety of opportunities for us down the road,” Deyoung said. “We hope that this project will make us more sustainable and allow us to create a stronger impact on our community.”
From past experience, she knows they’re changing lives.
Some people get back on their feet and never want to talk about or think about it again. But others keep in touch to let Viola’s Place staff and volunteers know how they’re doing.
“We definitely still get people who will call us on holidays just to thank us or just call to update on their lives.”
And that gives her hope for the future.
