The Salvation Army: Community and Family Services
Posted by Ralph Montesanto
on Jun 05, 2012
Shirley Molloy, Director of Community and Family Services for the Dundas area was this morning's speaker. Shirley's territory includes Hamilton west of Highway 403, Dundas, Ancaster, Waterdown and Flamborough. Shirley started by reminding us that one quarter of all shelter beds in Canada are provided by the Salvation Army. In the Hamilton area, shelter beds are only part of the support services the Army provides.
The Army has two food banks in the area with the Dundas food bank serving over 5000 visitors last year up from 2700 in 2007. Some of the other programs offered in Dundas are: Cafe 55 for seniors, Home With a Heart that works to manage a home and restore family relations, Backpacks for Kids that gives supplies to students, Christmas Hampers that helped 400 families last year, Red Cap Management for children with anger issues, emergency food, The Roots Youth Centre, and zumba and yoga classes. The Ellen Osler Home, a halfway house for incarcerated women, is also in Dundas.
Other programs in the broader Hamilton area include teen pregnancy support at Grace Haven, a men's shelter at the Booth Centre, correctional services counselling for inmates and families, suicide prevention and a family tracing service. The Lawson Ministries, a residential and day program for developmentally challenged individuals and the Mountberry Adult Day program which provides respite care for alzheimer's patients are two other services. The Army also provides emergency disaster assistance and the Hamilton team is presently in Thunder Bay and Kirkland Lake dealing with flooding and fires respectively.
Besides looking after the local Salvation Army office in Dundas, Shirley is also the president of our Rotary club.
The Army has two food banks in the area with the Dundas food bank serving over 5000 visitors last year up from 2700 in 2007. Some of the other programs offered in Dundas are: Cafe 55 for seniors, Home With a Heart that works to manage a home and restore family relations, Backpacks for Kids that gives supplies to students, Christmas Hampers that helped 400 families last year, Red Cap Management for children with anger issues, emergency food, The Roots Youth Centre, and zumba and yoga classes. The Ellen Osler Home, a halfway house for incarcerated women, is also in Dundas.
Other programs in the broader Hamilton area include teen pregnancy support at Grace Haven, a men's shelter at the Booth Centre, correctional services counselling for inmates and families, suicide prevention and a family tracing service. The Lawson Ministries, a residential and day program for developmentally challenged individuals and the Mountberry Adult Day program which provides respite care for alzheimer's patients are two other services. The Army also provides emergency disaster assistance and the Hamilton team is presently in Thunder Bay and Kirkland Lake dealing with flooding and fires respectively.
Besides looking after the local Salvation Army office in Dundas, Shirley is also the president of our Rotary club.