The 519 Church Street Community Centre

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A HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Tuesday, December 8th, 2009

The 519’s Sunday Drop-In Program helps to make the season bright for many in our communities

The Sunday Drop-In (SDI) is opening our doors wide this holiday season. All winter we provide three meals, supportive staff and a safe place for many marginalized members of our community. This holiday season, we are open Boxing Day and New Year’s Day to provide additional meals, and a small gift to our guests.

The SDI Program is older than The 519 itself and traces its roots to a time when our building was the clubhouse of the 48th Highlanders.

Many veterans of the Second World War experienced what we now call Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Unable to find jobs upon their return from the battlefields of Europe, North Africa and Japan, they found themselves living on the streets of Toronto. Every Sunday the 48th Highlanders would invite their homeless friends inside for a beer - the first Sunday Drop-in at 519 Church Street.

When The 519 Community Centre was established in 1975, homeless people continued to gather on Sundays, hoping for the same warmth and welcome, and the new community centre began serving coffee on Sundays to anyone who dropped in.

Jean DeBoerr, a resident of nearby Monteith Street began cooking soup on Sundays and she invited our homeless guests to come pick it up from her apartment and serve it at The 519. To this day homeless and under-housed people can find nutritious meals and a warm place to relax at The 519 every Sunday.

For of the visitors to the SDI Program, the holidays are a time of struggle as we remember family we are separated from, or try and find hope within cycles of poverty. For the staff and volunteers of the SDI, the holidays provide an important opportunity to connect with those with whom we spend each Sunday, “it’s a family thing,” says Darlene McGregor of the SDI.

We wish you all the best this holiday season, and thank you for your continued support.

Help make the season bright for members of our community:
Make a donation to The 519 this holiday season.

Tags: Advocacy, Church and Wellesley, Homopobia, LGBT, Sunday Drop-In, The 519, The 519 Church Street Community Centre, Trans, Transgender, Transphobia, Two-Spirited
Posted in Anti-Poverty, Community Development, Members | 2 Comments »