This former church turned community hub serves meals to London's most vulnerable population
St. Joe's Cafe runs out of 602 Queens Avenue at the corner of Adelaide Street North
A community hub comprised of three local agencies aiming to serve people living on the streets of London, Ont., has opened its doors, starting with a daily meal service for its clients.
St. Joe's Hospitality Centre--also known as St. Joe's Cafe--has been providing the community with sit-down breakfast and lunch services from Monday to Friday. Breakfasts costs $0.50 and lunch sells for a $1.00.
"The clients are finding us again which is wonderful and we're actually finding some new people who are starting to locate us in the neighbourhood that are starting to use our services," said Tracey Morton-Sader, coordinator for St. Joe's cafe.
The hub, as it's referred to, is made up of the Sisters of St. Joseph, London Cares, and Regional HIV-AIDS Connect. It restarted operations about four weeks ago since relocating to the historic 602 Queens Avenue at Adelaide Street.
"We are just loving it and we're starting to thrive here as well as we did in the last place," Morton-Sader said.
The cafe's team includes four staff members and over a dozen volunteers who serve more than 100 clients per shift, Morton-Sader said.
"It takes a huge village of volunteers to create this every single day."
Colleen Felts has volunteered with the team for nearly seven years, and as someone who previously needed to rely on a program like the cafe, Felts believes it's a wonderful service to the community.
"I love giving back. They've given to me just as much," she said. "They've been a wonderful support system when I had my own rough times. I've always left with a smile on my face."
Being a good neighbour
Despite the support, the cafe has also heard complaints from some neighbours who are concerned about people camping out in the building's parking lot.
London Cares' executive director Anne Armstrong says the team is working diligently to ensure they're being good neighbours.
"I think sometimes its a struggle for folks to understand why people are lingering on our front lawn. It's because they literally have nowhere to go," she said. "Everyone wants a place to call home. But right now unfortunately, lots of people don't have that."
Margo Ritchie of the Sisters of St. Joseph said the team plans to invite community members to the cafe and hear their concerns so they can work to assist their clients.
Armstrong said the number of people on the streets has more than doubled since before the pandemic, calling it the crisis mode that's created an increased need for services like the hub.
"We really are noticing the increased desperation of people who are living on the street particularly during COVID when there was just no place to go and so that's a new challenge to be met," Ritchie added.
A welcoming space 'with dignity'
The hub is designed to be a welcoming space that provides a sense of dignity and support to people who really need it following a few years of isolation due to COVID, Armstrong said.
"People were told to stay home by health units, but folks on the street have no roof over their head, so they were left and you could very clearly see they had nowhere to go," she added.
Felts says she hears many stories of gratitude from those who visit the cafe. More than just a decently priced meal, it also gives them social interaction and sense of belonging.
"A lot of people don't take the time to get to know these people and dignity is something that they don't get a lot of, so I think that's a big influencer for a lot of them," Felts said.
Armstrong and Ritchie say their hope is to eventually offer other flexible services such as income, mental health, and other supports for their clients to access along with the meals. They said a fourth agency will soon be joining the partnership but could not say who that will be.
Morton-Sader said the cafe will soon return to operating on weekends as well. Right now, breakfast is served from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. and lunch runs from noon to 1:30 p.m.
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