Siloam Mission

Since Siloam Mission’s purchase of the Madison Lodge in April of 2010, we have been restoring and renovating the building to provide dignified, affordable housing.

The renovations have not been minor – a full ‘make over’ is transforming what was once a drab and decrepit space into sleek, comfortable living quarters.

We are missing one piece: curtains and rods for the windows.

People will be ready to move in a very short time (a couple of weeks) and we do not have window coverings.

We are looking for 105 sets of:

• Newly sewn curtains: 2 panels totaling 48” wide x 70” long, with one simple seam at the top to put a rod through.
• Set of brackets and a rod: Please choose material that would be practical for keeping out light, and would add a stylish touch to someone’s home.

The interior of the rooms are painted a neutral, beige-taupe.

If you can help, or have any questions, please contact Frank Klassen at frank.klassen@siloam.ca or call 891-5714.

Thank you so much!

Hi folks,

Wondering if you can help us out with this one?

We are on the lookout for good, stackable non-cloth chairs to use in our drop-in centre and our supportive-housing units.

We could use up to 450 of them if in good condition and easily wipeable.

These could be the older wood seat type, or the newer plastic ones.

Got a hot lead? Email Dan at dan.maxson@siloam.ca or call him at 204-956-4344.

Thanks so much!

-Mike Duerksen

www.siloam.ca | @SiloamMission | Siloam On Facebook

On November 19th, I decided to do something special with my friends for my birthday.

I came back from Vancouver a few weeks before where I volunteered in an organization with other young people. That organization helped the homeless of West Vancouver, the poorest place in Canada.

When I came back to Winnipeg, I started reading about different organizations and I also read stories about young girls who volunteered with their friends on their birthday or had a party where everyone would bring a small amount of money which would all go to charity. I was really inspired by that, so I decided to do the same thing on my birthday.

When I was in 7th grade, a group of students including myself went to Siloam Mission to volunteer in the kitchen serving food and in the basement sorting out clothes. I remembered how much fun I had and how great it would be to repeat the experience. So I contacted the volunteer services of Siloam Mission and I began organizing the event. It was so easy to plan and Candice, the woman helping me, was really nice.

When everything was in place, I sent invitations to my friends. So on November 19th, six of my friends and I went to the Madison Lodge and we were greeted by Frank who was responsible for the place and the volunteers. He started with telling us a bit of history of the building and Siloam Mission, which I found very interesting. He was really nice and had planned fun stuff for us to do.

The best part was that we could smash bathtubs with a sledge hammer! We also had to remove nails from wood, wash the ceiling, sand walls, and some other stuff. It was so much fun! We had special boots and hard hats so I felt really professional. I felt like I was on an episode of Extreme Makeover Home Edition!

After some hard work, we went downstairs to eat snacks and I got a big surprise: the staff who cooks in the lodge baked a birthday cake for me, so Frank brought it with candles and everyone was singing. It really took me by surprise but I was so thankful for that special gesture. After the snack, we went back to work. I was really into it, but it was time to go home and I had to say good-bye to Frank and my special cool hat.

Frank was really great and made it so easy for us. We all got to take a group picture and we got bags that say Siloam Mission Hearts Volunteers.

My afternoon with Siloam Mission was one of the best I’ve had. I recommend volunteering there to everyone.

-Andrée Labossière spent her 20th Birthday volunteering at Siloam Mission’s Madison Lodge. Once renovated, the Madison Lodge will offer affordable, supportive housing for those who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

Life is about choices and choices are sometimes derived from ones opportunities in life.

Some time ago, my husband and I had the opportunity of volunteering at Winnipeg’s Siloam Mission. An organization we were familiar with, but not until we set foot into the four walls on Princess Street did we realize how special they really were.

The spoken word can certainly make a difference in one’s world, but how they are delivered is where the magic is. Upon following one of the volunteers through a guided tour of the facility, we became touched by how the story was unfolding. This was not purely an exchange of facts, but a heartfelt and passionate delivery of a belief system. A belief system committed to making a difference in the lives of people in need.

Step by step, we were witness to how this institution of love serves our homeless with dignity and respect. Raising the bar year after year by offering meal programs, shelter, medical services, and guidance through faith, Siloam stands alone in its ability to achieve this through the energy and time of volunteers.

Part Of The Family

Know one thing… that when you are privileged to have the opportunity to give your time and assist in a days work at Siloam, you become part of the family.

It has been our honour to have partnered with Siloam this season to run our first annual “Feed the Need“ food drive within our family owned business. Into its 4th week now, our response has been tremendous.

Our customers are excited to be part of such an initiative and have shown support with donations totaling 500 lbs of non-perishable food items to date.

Life is about choices…Siloam Mission has made one to assist and enable our homeless to sustain a life with opportunities. How beautiful is that?

Laryssa Semchyshyn and Chris Garrick
Owners,  Jackson Springs Water Corporation

A group of rural students from Ile des Chênes and St. Pierre Jolys spent their Halloween a little different than most.

Instead of amassing candy, graduating students from the École/College Regional Gabrielle-Roy and École Communautaire Réal-Bérard experienced first-hand the hardships of homelessness by spending the entire night outside to practice solidarity with Winnipeg’s less fortunate.

Spearheaded by graduating students of École/College Regional Gabrielle-Roy last year, the event was so successful that both schools decided to partner up to make the sleepout an annual event.

After a light breakfast this morning, the students boarded a school bus to Siloam Mission to drop off a big donation of clothing and other urgently needed items that they have collected over the last few weeks.

From all of us at Siloam Mission, thank you so much!

There’s plenty of opportunities for you to read about all sorts of bleak and dreary news in the world, but want to know an awesome story that’ll brighten your day?

Sean Gray from Prairie Footwear on 331 Smith St. dropped by Siloam Mission today with a huge donation of brand new socks so that Winnipeg’s less fortunate don’t have to freeze this winter.

And there’s more: Next week Sean is dropping by with another donation of winter boots! That’s a value of more than $12,000.

These may be times of escalating violence, social insecurity, economic malaise and dwindling opportunities for the poor and marginalized, but in Winnipeg, on 300 Princess St., there is a rare little piece of heaven because of the generosity of Manitobans like Sean and Prairie Footwear. 

It’s a rare show of compassion and community spirit.

It’s people like Prairie Footwear that get in the way of someone giving up; that stand between hope and despair.

Thank you. Your support continues to bless so many.

-Mike Duerksen, Communications Coordinator

(Photo Credit: Marcel Cretain / Winnipeg Sun)

With Thanksgiving fast approaching, we have a lot to be thankful for at Siloam Mission.

In the past year we’ve expanded our hours of operation, started a bagged lunch program, improved the shelter intake for our guests, opened up a gym, hired new people in our employment-training program, expanded the health centre to offer even more services, and finally — after all these years — expanded into supportive housing.

We also celebrated 24 years of serving Winnipeg’s inner city.

That milestone is bittersweet, of course. Not only is there still a dire need for places like Siloam since we started on Main Street in 1987, the need is increasing every year.

That increase is evident in the amount of meals we serve.

For our big Thanksgiving feast this year, we’re expecting to serve 800 people in one sitting. Last year we served close to 700.

Our cook Linda, who is basically the resident mom in this place, has a policy that nobody leaves her kitchen hungry.

This Thanksgiving, her kitchen is pretty stocked thanks to the generous donations from many, many Manitobans. 

But Linda is still in need of a few items.

Here’s the list of items that she and her kitchen team still need to make this year’s meal a success:

• Frozen mixed veggies (35 kg)
• 7up/Sprite
• Turkey Gravy Mix
• 2,000 individual creamers
• 2,000 sugar packets
• 2,000 salt packets
• 2,000 pepper packets

All donations can be dropped off at the administration doors of our main building on 300 Princess St., Monday-Friday from 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

If you are dropping off donations after-hours or on the weekend, please use our main entrance on 300 Princess St. where staff in the drop-in centre will be able to help you out.

Thank you for all you do for your inner-city neighbours. We couldn’t do it without you.

For you, we are thankful this Thanksgiving.

-Mike Duerksen

Last week, @kristelmason tweeted: “I got my #mbvotes voter’s guide in the mail. Just curious - how do @SiloamMission’s clients vote without a fixed address?”

It’s a great question — people without a fixed address run into many hurdles in life that range from difficulties getting a social insurance number and health card to troubles finding a job because of an incomplete resume.

Fortunately, Elections Manitoba has made it very easy for anyone without a fixed address to vote in our upcoming provincial election on October 4th. Yes, you can vote in a Manitoba provincial election if you do not have a permanent home, but you stay a shelter or hostel.

Yesterday and today, enumerators from Elections Manitoba dropped by Siloam Mission and set up a table in the drop-in centre to help people get on the voters list.

Of course, not everyone who uses the services of Siloam was at the shelter in the last two days.

But people whose names were not added to the voters list can still vote — Elections Manitoba only requires a letter from a shelter or hostel saying that they know who you are. To vote, people can just present that letter at the voting station along with another piece of identification or a piece of mail that has their name on it.

Speaking of mail, all guests of Siloam Mission can use our address as theirs, and receive mail at our shelter.

Another common question is how do people that have difficulties reading vote? Some of our guests are blind, have bad eyesight or struggle with illiteracy.

Elections Manitoba has thought of that as well — people can bring someone who is over the age of 18 with them to the voting station to help them mark their ballot.

-Mike Duerksen

I was taught another lesson working on the frontlines of Siloam Mission this month.

Early this year, our health centre paid for medication for a patient who was struggling mentally. Although we usually don’t do that, he was in such bad shape medically that I felt it was the only thing we could do.

The medication was expensive at $100.00 a month, but he promised to pay for it whenever he got some money.

A few weeks went by. He said he just didn’t have the money but he would keep his word. I had lost all hope of seeing that money, so we wrote it off.

At the end of July I found out that he had been on his way to see me but had been mugged and all his money was stolen. He was crying when he came to see me, promising that he would pay us but the mugging had taken a toll on him.

Fortunately after this time, he began receiving some social assistance for his medications so he didn’t have to worry about them being paid for.

It’s been a few months since then. Today, he asked to see me privately. He handed me the money he had so carefully saved.

I couldn’t help but notice that there was no money left in his wallet after he paid us, but to him a promise was a promise.

He was so grateful that we had taken care of him all this time he just wanted to fulfill a promise he made.

I ask myself when was the last time I was willing to fulfill a promise at any cost?

-Vicki Olatundun is the manager of Siloam Mission’s Saul Sair Health Centre