As days and nights get colder this fall, operators of Surrey Urban Mission are seeing increased need for clothing and other donated items on Surrey's streets and in the organization's shelters.
Challenges have been created by the September closure of SUMS' Cove Healthy Living hygiene and laundry station, on 106 Avenue, after the tap ran dry on the nearly $700,000 needed to operate the facility annually.
"Now people are just discarding their stuff when it gets too dirty, and coming in for new stuff, so we're seeing a lot of clothing left on the streets," said Jack O’Halloran, CEO of Surrey Urban Mission Society (SUMS).
A week before the B.C. election, both Conservative leader John Rustad and NDP leader David Eby pledged support for SUMS' shelters and programs.
Reopening the hygiene station is "one of our top priorities," O’Halloran said Thursday, Oct. 24. "We're waiting for the dust to settle, of course, from the election, to see who it is we can press into and talk about it."
In mid-December, SUMS could also lose its community kitchen at Surrey Welcome Hub, which serves meals twice daily for around 225 people, totalling 6,000 meals every month for Surrey's most vulnerable population: those living on the street.
At King George Boulevard and 108 Avenue, in a former bowling alley, a back room of the low-barrier SUMS Place shelter is where food, clothing and other donated items are stored. Some of the bins are empty right now, including the one for men's shoes and boots. Also needed are jackets, pants, sleeping bags, socks, toothbrushes, deodorant, razors, shampoo and soap.
"This stuff gets farmed out to all our shelters," O’Halloran explained.
"In the winter, we like sleeping bags over blankets," he added. "A sleeping bag has a bit more valuable to somebody on the street, so they'll keep it, they'll use it and keep using it, and it doesn't end up in the trash."
Over the past year and a half, Shawn Hardy has found a temporary home at the SUMS Place shelter, where he helped build a gazebo on the back patio.
"This is my second stint here, and at this stage of my life it's a place I need right now," Hardy said. "I mean, it's getting substantially better. When I had initially gotten here, I had a problem with alcoholism, and I'm about a year clean now. I haven't touched any of it, nor do I plan on it. But it was rough. Prior to this, I think around 2019, that was my first time homeless."
Originally from Newfoundland, Hardy's job prospects increased when he earned forklift-operation certification earlier this year, on his 31st birthday.
"That opens a lot of doors, and now currently I'm dealing with some mental health stuff and some dental issues and whatnot, but I'm on the proper path now," Hardy said. "I see everything going forward, it's not stagnant anymore. I'm not running in place, more or less."
SUMS' vision, as posted on the website sumsplace.ca, is to "provide a place for all in need and our mission is to be a bridge for Christ's love, nurturing hope in the community."
The organization recently hired longtime CKNW/Global reporter Janet Brown as director of communications
"Her passion has always been helping the vulnerable, so with that in mind and her career skills, she'll be a great addition to our SUM's team, helping to elevate our profile in the community," O’Halloran said in a press release.
"Right now it's a challenging time for SUMS financially, as it is with many organizations especially non-profits, so we hope when news releases are sent out, we will have the support of the media, politicians, the business community and the public."
