Out of the Cold History
;In 1986, the death of George, a homeless man befriended by the students and staff of St. Michael’s High School in Toronto, brought people together to take action. Students and staff at the school, Sister Susan Moran, Father John Murphy and the Reverend Canon John Erb, took necessary steps to arrange a location, food and volunteers. On January 15, 1988 they opened a small storefront on St. Clair Avenue in Toronto.</p> <p>Without specifically planning so, the first provision of service also revealed the special nature of the service for both the volunteers and guests. Each group grew in humanity by participating in the program; the guest by experiencing from the volunteers a genuine concern; and the volunteers, by learning to earn the respect and appreciation of the guests.
History in Kitchener-Waterloo
In February of 1999, a two month pilot project was run at First United Church, Waterloo. In the fall of 1999, three more churches opened their doors to the homeless. In January of 2000 another church opened its doors to provide overnight shelter only. We have had seven sites available for the program since the fall of 2000.