Kitchener shelter for homeless mothers reaching out to community for help

A homeless shelter for mothers in need is reaching out to the community for help.

Marillac Place in Kitchener is looking for everyday items like laundry baskets, crib sheets and receiving blankets for women and children in need.

Julie Walder, executive director of the shelter, said this year has been especially challenging because of staff burnout and overall funding challenges.

"Frontline staff are forced to prioritize based on the needs immediately in front of them and it really boils down to a limited ability to sit and spend time engaging in conversation and care," she said.

"So when we're forced to operate in a reactive capacity, I think that just really diminishes our ability to provide support that everybody deserves to have access to."

Walder said the average cost of a welcome basket is about $250 for each woman who comes to Marillac Place.

After that, there are more support baskets available for pregnant women with a need for pre or post natal care items like baby wipes, onesies and diaper bags. It costs Marillac Place about $275 to prepare a basket with those types of items.

In total, it can cost over $31,000 year to make sure 30 mothers have all the items they need to take care of themselves and their children while living at Marillac Place.

The shelter only accepts donations of brand new items from the public. They also accept monetary donations.

Walder said some of the funding challenges are due to the rising cost of food, which is higher than they expected and planned for this year.

"We reach out to the community for donations, but are at the mercy of our community's availability to give," she said.

"Many people are tightening their budgets. Times are difficult for many people."