Shepherds of Good Hope
Shepherds of Good Hope is a social service organisation based in Ottawa, Ontario. It is one of four homeless shelters in the city. Its client base includes people of different faiths, beliefs and genders. This organisations provides three main services: Support Services, Supportive Living and Shelter Services. Shepherds of Good Hope also operates a soup kitchen, and serves breakfast, lunch and evening meals.
History
Established in 1983, the Shepherds of Good Hope started as an emergency men's and women's shelter and grocery program out of St Brigid's in Lower Town. In 1984, a men's shelter and clothing program opened in the Guigues School, and on October 1, 1985, the soup kitchen, shelter and the Clothing & Grocery programs all moved to their current location, on 233 Murray St, also in Lower Town. The building had once been host to St. Brigid's School. The first Christmas Hamper program was established a year later, in November 1986, and still continues today providing food to over 1000 families for Christmas.In 1988, three new programs were created – Hope Outreach, Hope Community, and the Hope Centre. All three were targeted at providing housing, whether emergency or long term, for the clients of the Shepherds of Good Hope. In 1990, the Hope School, Hope Recovery, House of Lambs and Hope Discovery Supportive Housing were added to the resources available from the Shepherds of Good Hope. However, two years later several programs were cut due to reorganization, including Hope School and House of Lambs.
In December 1998, Sophie's Hope was started as an effort to create an environment where women could feel safe and would always be accepted. Though not directly affiliated with the Shepherds of Good Hope, Sophie's Hope set up shop inside 233 Murray St.
In 1999, the Hope Community and Hope Discovery joined together to create a “Supportive Housing” system of care, which is today one of the three main services offered through the Shepherds of Good Hope. Thirty-two extra housing units were opened later in the year to accommodate people suffering from severe mental illnesses, and 18 housing units for people who required minimal care. In May 2000, the Managed Alcohol Program was introduced, to much controversy, as the experimental program provided participants with controlled amounts of alcohol instead of promoting complete abstinence. In 2002, funding allowed the Shepherds of Good Hope to provide a housing worker for the “Supportive Housing” program in an attempt to help people find and maintain housing. In 2003, the Shepherds of Good Hope celebrated its 20th anniversary, and opened up 10 new beds for the Managed Alcohol Program. In May 2004, the shelter purchased a building on St. Andrew St. with funding from the Ministry of Health, which became a part of Supportive Living. It allowed for 35 housing units to be built for clients who were diagnosed with a mental disorder, but independent enough to live on their own. A year later, Hope Community closed its doors.
In 2009, after several years of searching for a place to relocate the Supportive Housing, the Shepherds of Good Hope purchased an old hotel to move its residents that could be living in Supportive Housing but were still in the shelters, in an effort to remove people from the drugs so readily available in Lower Town Ottawa. Residents moved to that new Carlington location, and 55 units have been filled with clients. The building is in a gated community which is kept under 24-hour surveillance in order to protect the clients and the community from trouble.
In September 2021, the Shepherds of Good Hope opened their fifth supportive housing residence, the 42-unit Richcraft Hope Residence on Montreal Road. Funding was provided by the Singhal family, which owns the Richcraft Group of Companies as well as $7 million in fee waivers and grants by the City of Ottawa.
On January 29, 2022, during the Canada convoy protest in Ottawa, some protestors harassed staff and volunteers from the Shepherds of Good Hope into giving them food from the soup kitchen. After posting about the incident on Twitter, the organization received $750,000 in donations from more than 13,000 people by February 10. The Shepherds of Good Hope announced that the bulk of the funds would go towards two supportive housing residences under construction, which will house 105 people when complete.
Staff
The Shepherds of Good Hope is run by a team of directors, staff, volunteers and donors & partners. The shelter is led by a President and CEO. Assisting the executive team is a board of directors with eleven members. These members manage areas such as treasury, fundraising, accounting and church affiliation. The directors, the board and all other employees and volunteers work together to coordinate the management and maintenance of the Shepherds of Good Hope.Volunteers
In addition to the board of management is the Team of Volunteers who critical to the success of the Shepherds of Good Hope. In 2018, 58,000 hours of work were contributed by over 450 volunteers for the Shepherds of Good Hope. Each individual is asked to provide one 4-hour shift per week for 6 months. Additionally, clients of the Shepherds of Good Hope put in over 7000 hours of volunteering around the shelter. This client-based service encourages clients to develop skills that could lead to future job skills. Volunteer tasks are performed around the premises and include working in the Clothing Room, Drop-In Centre, Soup Kitchen, shelters and residences, and Women Stabilization Program as well as helping to put together Christmas Hampers. Clients of the Shepherds of Good Hope are also encouraged to help out in the Soup Kitchen and shelter. Certain volunteers offer their services in their specialization to the Shepherds. These include barbers, cooks, beauticians, musicians, and yoga instructors.Partners
The Shepherds of Good Hope are also partnered with many high-profile companies, such as Bell Canada, Am Ex, CHUM Media and the Knights of Columbus, among others, who provide volunteer hours, awareness, and donationsFunding and expenses
Funding
In 2008, Shepherds of Good Hope received 49% of its funding from the City of Ottawa, 14% from rent income from residents, 22% in donated food value, 20% in individual donation, 10% of volunteer contributions, 9% from Champlain Local Integrated Health Network, who also provided a grant, 4% in rent income and 3% from other miscellaneous sources.Expenses
According to the 2008 annual report, the funds were distributed amongst the various programs and administration needs accordingly:61% went to programs and services, 26% went to groceries, 7% went to real estate, 3% went to administration, and a final 3% went to amortization.
Fund raising
Fund raising efforts are run by the Shepherds of Good Hope Foundation and include:The Annual Am Ex Golf Tournament
The Annual Am Ex Golf Tournament raises an important sum of money every year that goes towards helping the Shepherds of Good Hope. The 2009 tournament raised $14,638 and helped with the purchase of the new Supportive Housing homes in Carlington, the former Cardinal Suites.The Annual Hunger Banquet
2009 marked the 5th Annual Hunger Banquet for the Shepherds of Good Hope Banquet for the Shepherds of Good Hope. This year 445 people were in attendance, double the number from last year. Features of this year's banquet include the recognition of outstanding volunteers, musical entertainment, and the presenting of cheques for the Shepherds of Good Hope from Corporate Partners. This year's Hunger Banquet was sponsored by CHUM Ottawa, Telus, Deloitte, The Ottawa Police Services and the Ottawa Catholic School Board.Current activities
Currently the Shepherds of Good Hope host three main services: Support Services, Supportive Living, and a Shelter Program.Support Services
Several Support Services are offered through the Shepherds of Good Hope for the underprivileged of Ottawa. These include a Soup Kitchen, The Grocery Program, The Clothing Program, Evening Drop-In Centre, The Christmas Hamper Program, and the Shepherds of Good Hope Van.Soup Kitchen
Open 365 days a year, the Soup Kitchen serves 690 hot meals a day, and an additional 860 take-away sandwiches available every day.Started more than 20 years ago, the Hope Garden was created to reduce the constant shortage of fresh vegetable in the Soup Kitchen. Six lots at Kilborn Gardens were donated by the City of Ottawa, totalling about of space. Hope Garden receives countless donations from providers such as Lee Valley tools, Home Hardware, Greely Sand & Gravel Inc. and seed suppliers. For the past four years, Hope Garden has hosted a Garden Party to showcase their hard work to the community.
Grocery Program
The Grocery Program is a monthly initiative which offers emergency groceries to anyone in need. In 2008, 21,000 families in Ottawa benefited from the Grocery Program, for a total of approximately $440,000 worth of groceries. The foods provided in the baskets are reflective of community donations as well as seasonal availability for fruits and vegetables.Clothing Program
The Clothing Program provides clothing and footwear to the guests of the Shepherds of Good Hope aswell as to low-income individuals.
Evening Drop-In
The Evening Drop-In program provides a safe environment for anyone from 5:30 to 9:30 pm. Soup and hot drinks are provided, and guests can participate in card games, bingo, tutorials, AA meetings, or simply enjoy the flat screen T.V. or live musical entertainment.Shelter Program
The Shepherds of Good Hope have several shelter programs, to maximize the help they can provide to people from all different walks of life.Emergency Men's Shelter
The Emergency Men's Shelter is a 24-hour shelter equipped with 102 beds and provides food, showers, laundry services and medicine storage for its residents.Emergency Women's Shelter
The Emergency Women's Shelter is a 24-hour emergency shelter for women or transgender individuals who are over the age of 18. It is equipped with 57 beds and provides three meals a day, shower, laundry and hygiene supplies, safe-injection supplies and clean clothing.Additionally, Hope Outreach has on-site psychiatric nurses, medical help, and addiction assessment and support. Hope Outreach also hosts a pilot project targeting homeless people who are unable to access services for their severe health problems due to their lifestyle. This project is an Inner City Pilot Project, and has been hugely successful. Implemented in 2001, it was running at “100% capacity within 6 weeks of opening”, and grew in number between 2001 and 2003. This project is also being hosted in other shelters in the Ottawa community.