Inn from the Cold
For information about Inn from the Cold, go to their website: http://www.innfromthecold.org/
October 2008
Calgary’s First Emergency Family Shelter
A Place Where Hope Begins
By Inn from the Cold’s Executive Director, Diana SegboerOver three years ago, Inn from the Cold began a long and challenging journey to find a suitable building for Calgary’s first Emergency Family Shelter. Our vision was to offer families a single, stable to stay every night, where volunteers could come to provide meals and hospitality. As we have seen over the past 11 years, the nomadic lifestyle of moving from place to place each night is hard on families, especially the children. If families knew where they were staying each night, it would help them to begin to stabilize and better deal with the issues that contributed to their homelessness.
Inn from the Cold looked at many options over the past several years. We unsuccessfully bid on the former Ronald McDonald House. We considered many possibilities, but the reality is that to purchase or build a suitable property, get the appropriate zoning permissions, gain local community support and deal with NIMBY issues was impossible.
Thanks to the generosity of many Calgarians and a loan from a local philanthropist, our dream became a reality when the Inn purchased Centre 110, located at 110 – 11 Ave S.E., from the Calgary Drop-In & Rehab Centre in July 2008.
This three-storey building is centrally located in the Beltline area, offering our guests easy access to public transportation and other partner agencies that provide the programs and services they need to rebuild their lives. The Inn’s administrative offices have been located here since the Drop-In Centre generously offered us office space over two years ago. The upper floors were used by the DI for its own emergency shelter program that has since been relocated. All the zoning and by-law requirements were already in place, making it an ideal solution for families.
Inn from the Cold will continue to operate out of this location, while transforming the upper floors into a family living space. There will be comfortable semi-private rooms where guests will have their own place to sleep and relax. Ample storage, washrooms, a playroom for kids and communal family room are a few of the other features. A large kitchen will enable volunteers to prepare delicious hot meals. In time, a rooftop garden will provide a welcome retreat and outdoor play area for kids.
Throughout the purchase process, there was a considerable amount of media attention about the Shelter, with some organizations and individuals expressing concern and criticism over the location, security and the building’s suitability. The fact is that Centre 110 is the best choice for Calgary’s first Emergency Family Shelter and Inn from the Cold is the right organization to operate the Shelter.
Our top priority is to provide a safe, stable place for our families. The Beltline is a community that is under massive redevelopment. Thousands of residential units are being built, an increased police presence has dramatically reduced crime in the area and with the relocation of the Mustard Seed to the Foothills Industrial Park, the face of the neighbourhood is changing in a positive way.
We strongly believe that given the rise in the number of homeless families on the streets (36% increase from 2006), the Centre 110 Emergency Family Shelter is the right solution for families who need help now.
We want to thank all of you who expressed your concern and support during the purchase process and look forward to taking the next step in this journey together.
Emergency Family Shelter Facts
Location
The Emergency Family Shelter is located at 110 – 11 Ave S.E. in the Beltline district.
Building Description
The three-story, 26,000-square-foot brick building was constructed in 1908 – 1910 and includes a full basement.
Building Use
- Basement – laundry facilities and secure family storage
- 1st Floor – Inn from the Cold offices, including intake reception area and a computer lab
- 2nd Floor – Inn from the Cold’s administrative offices, meeting rooms
- 3rd Floor – Family residence with XX semi-private rooms, XX bathrooms, kitchen, common area and playroom
Security
- On-site building facility staff 24/7/365
- Extensive screening criteria for all guests
- Zero tolerance for possession, selling or use of drugs and alcohol
- Security cameras throughout the facility
- Restricted access to family living area for registered guests only
- 10:00 p.m. curfew for all guests
Area
- Located in the Beltline district of Calgary
- Easy access to public transportation - ½ block from the nearest bus stop and 4 blocks north to C-train access
- Extensive redevelopment is underway with over 2605 residential units under construction as of August 2008 and an estimated 50% increase in area population within the next two years (Source: Victoria Park Business Revitalization Zone)
- Pronounced decrease in crime in area in past year. Person crimes (per thousand population) are down from 35 (2006) to 25 (2007). Property crimes (per thousand population) have decreased from 147 to 100 in the same time
- Movement of Mustard Seed shelter to Foothills Industrial Park
Funding
- Centre 110 was purchased for $6.5 million through funds raised by the Building Family capital campaign ($4M) and a mortgage loan ($2.5M)
- Inn from the Cold is now fundraising through its Building Hope campaign to repay the $2.5M loan by 2010
For more information on the Inn’s Emergency Family Shelter, our programming and operations, and volunteer and fundraising opportunities, contact the Inn from the Cold office at 403-263-8384 or visit www.innfromthecold.org.
Volunteer Opportunities
There are many ways that you can get involved with the Emergency Family Shelter. Contact volunteer@innfromthecold.org to find out more!
Donate Today!
Churches, organizations and individuals can support the Inn in a variety of ways. We need your financial support for mortgage payments and Shelter operations and programming. To find out more, e-mail Derek@innfromthecold.org
What’s going on at the Knox Inn?
It has always been a dream of the people at Knox to be “out of business” one day. That is, that we would no longer be needed because people would no longer be homeless. Thanks to the Inn’s new Emergency Family Shelter and many other community activities we are getting closer to realizing that dream.
This year the Knox Inn volunteers have been asked by the Society to cut back on the number of Inns we provide at the church and look at volunteering at the new Emergency Family Shelter.
So, rather than providing 3 Inns per month at Knox we have scaled back to only one per month. This has given many of our long-serving volunteers other options. We’re still fortunate to have a strong team of 30+ to provide temporary shelter and care to our homeless guests on the first Sunday of each month. With the help of volunteers from the Unitarian church and the Korean Presbyterian church we have a strong complement of teams performing coordination, set up, cooking dinner, hospitality, overnight, breakfast and clean up duties. We are very blessed.
Dave Mackidd is putting together teams to cook dinner at the Emergency Family Shelter this fall. If you’re interested in joining Dave on this important and rewarding mission, please contact him after Sunday services or at david.mackidd@encana.com
Inn from the Cold will open its doors in the next few days to as many as 80 individuals who are part of a family. We applaud their work to ensure that children, in particular, will have the stability they need and enjoy having the same place to stay each and every night.
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