We are very grateful to Joelle Schmidt, the Communications Coordinator at Siloam Missssion, for answering some of our questions:
1. What sets you apart from other similar organizations?
Siloam Mission offers all services free of charge to those experiencing poverty and homelessness in Winnipeg. I think the biggest thing that sets us apart is the variety and complexity of the services we offer. This includes: Meals, clothing, shelter, employment-training, health care, transitional support (transitioning from the streets to a self-sufficient life), an arts program, and more.
2. What is expected from someone who wants to volunteer?
Volunteers fill out a volunteer application and are asked to attend a volunteer orientation. We accept volunteers aged 14 and up. (14 and 15 must have a parent/guardian accompany them and 16 and 17 must have an adult chaperone)
3. What do you think needs to be done to better help the homeless situation in Winnipeg?
I think one of the big things that could be done to better help the homelessness situation is to offer more affordable, low-incoming housing. This is one of our future goals of Siloam Mission – to offer transitional housing to those who are in our employment-training programs and helping them get off the streets.
4. How do you collect donations for the mission?
Donations are collected through individual and corporate sponsors. Our donors provide over 85% of our financial and material support. (Only 15% is gov’t funded). Some of the fundraising we do is through direct mail campaigns, advertising, and events.
5. What are some of the programs and services that you offer?
We offer meals, clothing, emergency shelter, health care, employment-training, transitional support, an arts program, help with tax returns, food hampers, haircuts, spiritual and emotional support.
6. What is the success rate of someone who takes advantage of the programs and services that you provide?
We often see people move on to employment after being in our employment training programs. We also have a lot of people who use our services that are the ‘working poor’ – people who are not homeless, but are not able to meet all everyday needs.
It’s a bit hard to say what the ‘success’ rate is because we do not track all people who use our services. But one thing we do for long-term shelter patrons is offer transitional support. A worker will assist them in finding out why they are here? What brought them here? And what we can do to help them reach their goals for the future?
(Not sure if this answers your question, as it can go pretty deep.) If you need more info, I can forward this question on to the Director of Transitional Support.
7. Is Winnipeg a compassionate and generous city?
Definitly! I mentioned earlier that over 85% of our funding comes from donations. This is amazing, seeing as we can serve over 900 meals a day, we offer shelter for 110 people every night, and so much more. The people of Winnipeg have helped make this possible and we could not do it without our generous, compassionate donors and volunteers. The amount of support is overwhelming, it’s incredible to see how many people care and get involved. For example, last year we had over 53,000 hours of volunteer time, which is the equivalent of approximately 26 full-time employees. Amazing! We are so thankful for all support, and we know that every little bit helps.
8. How can we all help?
We can all help through donations – either financially or through material goods (ie. Food, clothing)
We can help by volunteering our time to serve and help make a difference in the lives of Winnipeg’s less fortunate.
9. Any final remarks?
Many people find volunteering to be an enriching and enlightening experience. To see first-hand what is going on in Winnipeg’s inner city is life changing for many. What you see may be heart-breaking, but it is important to know the reality of poverty and homelessness. Many volunteers build relationships with the patrons and enjoying being part of the work that is helping make change happen for our city’s less fortunate.
