Dear friends,
This fall, Mount Olive is planning to do something new and different as we try to do some of God’s work in our community: we will be providing space for the Extreme Weather Response (EWR) Shelter, from November to March, when an emergency weather alert is officially called. We will be doing this in partnership with Options Community Services and with the support of Peninsula United Church because our church believes this is an important community outreach programme.
You probably have many questions, and hopefully many are answered in the accompanying brochure.
Briefly, this is what the EWR Shelter is about:
a temporary shelter, open overnight only, when the weather conditions are severe (not permanent housing)
a safe, warm, and hospitable place in the coldest and wettest weather for our neighbours who live on the streets or who are temporarily experiencing homelessness
RCMP, hospital staff, and local social service agencies will direct guests to the shelter when a cold weather alert is called
shelter workers are trained and supervised by Options Community Services, an agency with many years of experience providing this type of programme
Mount Olive, Peninsula United and Options are committed to the EWR Shelter being safe for both the guests, staff, and for our community, especially during the pandemic. We are confident that the EWR Shelter can operate in our church with minimal disruption to the neighbourhood.
To learn more about the EWR Shelter, you are invited to an Information Meeting on Wednesday, October 13th, 2021, at 7:00pm in the church. We will introduce the key people involved who will give an overview of the operation of the shelter, including plans to monitor the parking lot and surrounding area, and the role of staff and volunteers. At the event, a short video will be shown, with some reflections on previous experiences, and an opportunity will be given for the public to ask any questions.
For those who would like to attend this meeting in person, please note we will be taking all the necessary steps to follow current public health orders regarding special events: there will be limited capacity in the church, attendees must sign in, and vaccination certificates will be scanned. For those who are interested, the meeting will also be “livestreamed”. Please follow the link below to access the video at the time of the event.
We are looking forward to this new venture and hope this meeting will provide useful background information to those of you in the neighbourhood.
Yours sincerely,
Pastor Peter Hanson and Susan Wieczorek
on behalf of the Church Council of Mount Olive Lutheran Church
Comments