Heyworth House is a shelter for 70 men, women and couples located in the east end of Toronto near Main and Danforth. It is a 24-hour, 7 day per week facility that offers housing placement assistance, medical support and referrals and links to other services in the community. There is a full-time food program for the residents.

Heyworth House residents have access to a Harm reduction worker twice per week and through a new partnership with Toronto East General Hospital, a doctor visits once a week to ensure that residents have access to medical resources. TEGH also provides Heyworth House with an addictions/mental health councilor.

Heyworth House staff are committed to improving the quality of life for the residents and have a number of ongoing programs and special events that encourage the residents to be more active in the community and to enhance their social skills. Residents have meetings twice per month as well as bingo. Residents also have access to memberships at the local community centres and a wide variety of outdoor sports equipment to help stay active.

Heyworth House wants to be a good neighbour to the surrounding community so its staff and residents go to local parks every year to clean up garbage in the spring time. Shelter Management also attends Community Liaison Committee meetings where residents and the local BIA can discuss issues that are affecting the community. Heyworth House is now in the process of starting up a newsletter which will be delivered to the larger community. If a community resident has any comments or concerns please email us.

Ray DesRoches, Assistant Manager, Heyworth House Shelter
416-691-0012

The Schoolhouse Shelter was built around 1905 and served as a boys' school (Allan School) for many years until the 1970's when it was converted to a men's hostel.

Dixon Hall took over the administration of the Schoolhouse on September 15th, 1999. It provides shelter to up to fifty-five residents. Dixon Hall operates its programs based on a harm reduction approach. The Schoolhouse was a pioneer among Canadian shelters, in that it was one of the first to allow its residents to consume a limited quantity of beer on the premises. Residents are required to pay a user fee of $7 per night.

They leave the premises by 8:00 a.m. and return at 4:00 p.m. Monday to Friday. Special exception will be made for residents who are ill or have worked a night shift. The facility is open 24 hr. on weekends and statutory Holidays.

The residents take a very active role in providing input into the Shelter rules and policies. There are regular meetings for residents and they elect a treasurer to govern the house funds.

The shelter offers a number of programs, including:

• Recreational / social events (bingo, barbecue, billiards, movie rentals, etc.)
• Housing (support towards obtaining alternative housing, matching with landlords, & follow-up support once they are housed)
• Harm reduction (weekly site support from worker, information sharing, referral, etc.)
• Onsite nursing care (weekly, including prescriptions)
• Meal services

Shelter staff are committed to assisting residents towards accessing these and other community resources.

Residents may obtain clean linen, towel, soap, and coffee supplies. Free laundry facilities, telephone, and computer access are available. Beds have lockable cabinets underneath for securing residents' belongings.

The Schoolhouse would like to recognize the generous support from its partner agencies that contribute to the overall quality of its programs, including:

• Windfall Clothing Service (monthly distribution of various apparel)
• The United Way of Greater Toronto (Winter Relief grants that have been used for bag lunches and winter jackets / boots)
• Regent Park Health Centre (weekly nursing site support)
• Second Harvest (weekly shipments of frozen meat, vegetables, and canned goods)

For a site tour or if you have general questions about the Schoolhouse, please contact:

Doris Strange
Assistant Manager, Schoolhouse Shelter
(416) 960-9609

The Housing Department works with men and women who have histories of homelessness due to mental health, addiction, poverty, and subsequent social and familial isolation. We work with residents of both the Schoolhouse Shelter and Heyworth House, located at 2714 Danforth Avenue. The housing team works with these men and women to develop lifeskills that facilitate access to stable housing. Dixon Hall has a working relationship with Dixon Neighbourhood Homes' two locations where we provide ongoing support to the individuals we house at these locations. The two locations are: 841 Dundas Street East and 30 St. Lawrence Street.

Shelter Housing Workers help clients fill out housing connections applications and the Housing support Team facilitates the transition to more stable housing by providing ongoing support to individuals, assuring that individuals maintain their priority on TCHC housing lists. Many of our clients obtain housing in the private sector and through our ongoing follow up support can maintain their housing and healthy relationship with landlords.

Other services we offer include:

• Harm reduction services and referrals
• home visits
• budgeting, banking, and income tax services
• referrals to community economic development projects at The Mill Centre
• referrals to Dixon Hall's LabourLink employment program
• occasional outings, tickets to various events, and Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners
• food programs
• Mediations services with landlords and the Housing Tribunal
• information and referral to many services including health facilities and counselling services

Our resource and referral centre is located at 58 Sumach Street.

Dixon Hall needs your help to continue welcoming people into safety and warmth of our shelters.

Please make a donation online through CanadaHelps.org. It is fast, safe and very cost-effective for our agency - and you'll receive your official income tax receipt in minutes! Just click on the logo.

Or you can download and print a donation form which can be mailed or faxed by clicking here.

Out of the Cold

Visit the Out of the Cold website for schedules and detailed information.

Out of the Cold is a faith-based, volunteer-driven program that provides a safe place, hot meals, hospitality and refuge from the streets during the cold winter months. Churches and synagogues collaboratively open their doors and facilitate an over night sleeping arrangements for many from Toronto's homeless community.

Over 3000 volunteers work across the City of Toronto each season to organize meals, recreation, counselling, referrals and clothing for over 500 homeless people each week.

The Out of the Cold program was initiated in 1987 by the students of St. Michael's School with the support and guidance of Sister Susan Moran of the order of Our Lady of Perpetual Sorrow. The program was established after a group of students befriended a homeless man who had frequented the area near the school. Within a couple of weeks there was a strong relationship that developed between the students and the homeless man. Shortly thereafter the death of this man had a deep impact upon the students. With Sister Susan, they began discussing what they could do to alleviate homelessness. The program started within the Catholic faith groups, but soon expanded to include various other faith groups throughout the City of Toronto.

Since the fall of 2003, Dixon Hall has worked in partnership with over 23 faith groups across the City to operate the Out of the Cold program. This past season, Dixon Hall provided staff to 16 sites with an additional 2 sites receiving other support services. The Programs runs from as far east as Scarborough (Midland and Sheppard) to as far west as Etobicoke (Kipling and Bloor). In addition to the staff support, Dixon Hall provides resources such as nursing, clean linens and transportation.

Since 2006, we have seen OOTC guests move from the host sites into our shelters where they were able to connect with housing workers to help move them forward.

For some of the guests, the OOTC is a last resort; many have been "barred" from main stream shelters or they don't feel comfortable in such a structured environment. Thanks to the hospitality of the volunteers working in partnership with Dixon Hall, OOTC is able to offer a safe yet welcoming environment to the City's most chronically homeless.

If you have any questions or comments about Dixon Hall's Shelters or the Out of the Cold please contact:

Shannon McGillivray, Manager of Shelters and Shelter Programs
416-691-6804