N'Dinawemak - Our Relatives

There is no such thing as a good homeless shelter. The sooner one wraps one's head around that reality and allows one's heart to grieve this sad truth the better. As you might have guessed, those of us who are of an intellectual or philosophical bent have spent time reflecting on the shelters and what we have seen and experienced first hand and we have gone further to discuss these matters with others equally involved. This is the consensus in my circle of conversants. Each of the 3 'majors' -- Salvation Army, Siloam Mission and N'Dinewemak (Main Street Project et al. are too small to figure here) -- does certain things better than the others owing to its starting point and core philosophy, its functional as opposed to touted policies and procedures, the services and resources actually provided, and perhaps most importantly of all, through the embodiment and expression of each leadership group's real values as seen in the selecting, hiring, training, and fostering (guiding, correcting and when needed punishing or disciplining) of staff who are the face of the organisation for most clients. Where N'Dinewemak succeeds, it is almost entirely because it (more often than not) bends extraordinarily and places the humanity of its clientele to serve them as individuals and people before its policies. As a newer organisation, it lacks the resources and developed service programs of the Salvation Army or the the resources and funding that the Sally Ann or Siloam Mission enjoy but do not make effective enough use of actually to assist their clients. Where N'Dinewemak fails, it is usually because of political in-fighting between staff, many of whom were hired through nepotism of the highest order. Worse yet, there is a strong current of racism (and also a virulent homophobia) running blindly from the top down and never formally or officially challenged. Reporting such incidents, like reporting most thefts of personal property, leads nowhere. All that said, this is not to deny the existence of some truly wonderful, caring staff who constantly go out of their way to be helpful and kind to everyone. These folks, in both the AMC and Sabe streams, are truly the force that is holding 190 together. It is because of them that N'Dinewemak has the success it does.
May 2nd, 2023

Apr 17th, 2023

I love the Sabe recoloization programs! So much better than other shelters
Apr 16th, 2023

Mar 20th, 2023

Great staff, an upbeat feeling. Great place to volunteer.
Jan 18th, 2023