Overnight shelter seeks continued support

By Adelle Ellis, Times Reporter

The Strathmore Overnight Shelter (SOS) will be holding their fourth annual Walk in From the Cold fundraiser on March 1 to raise money and awareness about homelessness in Strathmore.
The shelter, opened in September 2018, has grown from supporting a capacity limit of 10 adult men and women to now supporting up to 20 people on any given night.
“We have just expanded our capacity from 10 to 20 people because last fall we had people sleeping in the parking lot,” said Elizabeth Karp, executive director with SOS.
The Walk in From the Cold walk is the single largest fundraiser for the shelter and after a drop in donations last year, Karp hopes to double the donations made at the walk and to raise $10,000 or more this year.
There is both a two-kilometre and five-kilometre walk option starting at the shelter, heading downtown and ending back at the shelter. There are ample opportunities to get involved besides walking, such as making pledges to a walker or by making a pledge to Karp herself who will be walking the five-kilometre trail. Anyone who donates over $20 is eligible for a charitable tax receipt.
Prior to the walk beginning, various entertainment will take place, including songs by MLA Leela Aheer and her two sons, a drum team from Siksika Nation, and an address from Aheer and Strathmore Mayor Pat Fule.
Once finished, participants can enjoy a dinner put on by the shelter’s board of directors. There will also be a special volunteer appreciation presentation to thank the volunteers who work tirelessly to keep the shelter running.
“The volunteers mean a lot; they do all these things, assessments and communications,” said Karp, who added the shelter is always in need of more volunteers.
The Strathmore Overnight Shelter is located on the top floor of the Harvest Healing Centre Church and is open nightly from 7 p.m. until 7 a.m. the next morning. Two to three volunteers work during each shift with the night split up into two shifts, one for intake and one for overnight.
When someone comes into the shelter for the night, volunteers check them in, ensuring they don’t have anything that can be a danger to themselves and others. They also interact with them and try to set some goals. They are fed dinner, along with breakfast and coffee the next morning, and are sent on their way the next day with a bagged lunch. Volunteers then clean, sanitize and do up to eight loads of laundry, putting everything back together for the next evening.
Harvest Healing Centre runs a coat program, and the shelter itself is always in need of food and cleaning donations, such as disposable gloves, cleaning supplies, paper towels, garbage bags, stir sticks, plastic utensils and all sorts of other donations.
“The walk is our biggest fundraiser for the shelter,” said Karp. “The shelter just operates off donations so it’s a huge thing for us so we’re hoping it will be our best fundraiser ever this year and lots of people will get on board.”
All funds raised will go directly towards the shelter to help pay for utility bills to run the building, maintenance, upkeep, and food and cleaning supplies that aren’t donated.
Karp noted the cost to run the building housing both the church and the shelter can be upwards of $8,000 per month.
“The church’s whole mandate with the shelter is based on James 1:27 to look after orphans and widows and the homeless, so that’s what we’re doing,” said Karp. “Come and join, we’ve got lots of great activities and we appreciate every single thing our volunteers donated and given. We could not run this shelter without the volunteers and the amazing community that we have.”
Anyone who wishes to participate in the Walk in From the Cold may download a pledge sheet from strathmoreovernightshelter.com or by contacting Karp at 403-880-3171. There is no cost to join in the walk, but people are asked to collect as many pledges as possible right up until the registration at 4 p.m. on March 1.