Shelter opens doors to local women in need

Shelter opens doors to local women in need

News

By: Sandra Bolan

Mercy House officially opened its doors last Saturday to area women and their children who are in need of transitional housing.

“Very often, when someone is in an emergency shelter, after their six-week maximum, they have nowhere to go,” Mercy House administrative director Laura van der kooi said.

About five years ago, just as some members of CrossTrainers Ministries were trying to come up with a solution to the lack of transitional housing for women in Bradford West Gwillimbury, the organization was approached by then-mayor Frank Jonkman about a 10,000-square-foot home on Hwy. 88 that was owned by Geranium Corporation, but vacant.

“I never realized how hard it is to give something away,” Mr. Jonkman said in reference to the years of red tape he and Geranium had to go through in order to provide this location to CrossTrainers.

“After four-and-a-half years, it’s finally ready to roll,” he said.

Mercy House can house up to four women and their children.

All women in need of assistance from Mercy House must first undergo a phone assessment, then a face-to-face interview. If accepted into the house, the first month of residency is free. After that, a financial assessment is conducted.

“Everything is on an individual basis,” Ms van der kooi said.

Along with providing a safe place for women to live, Mercy House provides women with life skills and resumé preparation training and information on parenting.

 All programs are run by volunteers.
 
“Nothing is going to be mandatory, but if they’re willing to take those things on, they’re offered,” Ms van der kooi said.

You can contact Mercy House at 905-775-1805 or find out more online at www.ctministries.ca.

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