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this page | APGO staff member opens her heart to the less fortunate as a dedicated volunteer By Crystal Spekking, APGO's Northern Ontario Communications Officer Melinda Semkiw 
As winter fast approaches, you start preparing for the cold months ahead, by pulling out your winter clothing, turning up the furnace and preparing those hot and hearty winter meals. As you enjoy all of these comforts, have ever you stopped to think about the people who don't have a warm bed to sleep in every night, winter clothing or something to eat? What happens to these unfortunate people in the cold winter months?
Thankfully, there are many dedicated volunteers and outreach programs available to assist the homeless and the poor. One of these dedicated volunteers is APGO's Director of Registration, Melinda Semkiw. Melinda has been actively involved with The Lakeshore, Out of the Cold Program (LOOTC) from inception for the past five seasons. This winter will be her sixth season as a volunteer. She is part of the intake team and is the Onsite Evening Coordinator. The intake team welcomes, registers and arranges sleeping spaces for the guests. During the evening, team members socialize with guests, coordinate laundry, showers, distributes toiletries and clean socks. They also work with security to ensure the integrity and safety of the site. The Out of the Cold Program also offers a hot and healthy dinner in the evening to approximately 65 guests After dinner, guests can play cards, join an art class, converse with one another or watch a movie. The Overnight Shelter is set up to accommodate 20 homeless/poor men and 25 on a cold weather alert issue by the city. Once the shelter has reached its capacity, other guests are relocated to other shelters in the city. The program also includes, feeding and serving 35 guests a hot and healthy breakfast and a bagged lunch for all overnight guests and a TTC token to get to their next site. The St. Margaret's Anglican Church is located on 156 Sixth Street, in Toronto. There are approximately 50 volunteers who help operate this particular shelter. The shelter is open from November-April of each year, with the hours of operation from Monday 6:00 pm-Tuesday 8:00 am. When asked, how and why did you get involved? Melinda responded, "A family friend who was homeless died from exposure to the elements. He needed help but there were no programs in place in the Lakeshore area to help him or assist or address homelessness. This incident 'hit home' and made the perils of homelessness a reality to me. Since then, it's been a personal crusade of mine to prevent others from the same fate. When the pilot program became available through St. Margaret's Parish, I eagerly took part and have actively been involved ever since. I was, and still am, determined to do whatever I can to ensure the success of this vital program." Melinda says that new volunteers are always welcome. To become a volunteer or get more information call (416) 788-2402. Financial donations are greatly appreciated to purchase tokens, socks, hygiene products, laundry soap etc. Why not gather a group of friends and or colleagues, to donate or supply a breakfast, lunch or dinner? (Tax recipes can be given upon request). |
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