In addition to being the humane thing to do, a major 5 year study funded by the Federal Government has demonstrated the cost effectiveness of housing the homeless. As reported by CBC’s As it Happens, “The report suggests putting homeless people in housing, even before they have dealt with other problems such as mental illness and addiction, works to improve their lives. And it saves money.” The study focused on the Housing First approach to housing the homeless, which is the approach Bissell Centre uses in its Homeless to Homes program. For more info about our local Housing First teams go to the Homeward Trust site HERE.
Louise Bradley, President and CEO of the Mental Health Commission of Canada, was interviewed about the study by CBC’s Louise Bradley. You can listen to it by clicking the listen button below.
Resources of Interest
A Place to Call Home: Edmonton’s 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness(PDF Format) – Prepared by the Edmonton Committee to End Homelessness
A Plan for Alberta: Ending Homelessness in 10 Years(PDF Format) – Report from the Government of Alberta’s Alberta Secretariat for Action on Homelessness
Stories from people who live without housing, published 2008 – Bissell Centre report
Are you looking for an ideal place to have your staff retreat… leadership or executive camp… a scrap booking weekend… regatta party… dream wedding… parent’s 50th anniversary… or perhaps a group of friends just want to get away from the city for some respite from the city hustle and bustle.
Well, Moonlight Bay Centre may be what you are looking for.It’s only 45 minutes from Edmonton and on over two acres of lakefront property.
The Dining Hall and Recreation Hall were erected a few years ago and all of our cabins have been renovated. Imagine the possibilities:
- Organizational retreats and workshops
Hold cooking lessons in our industrial kitchen- Family reunions
- Weddings
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Sports camps
- Health and Wellness retreats
- Special Interest retreats (scrap bookiing, art camps, photography events)
- Fundraising events
- Faith Community events
- Outdoor Festivals
In addition to our cabins, there is camping available on our grounds and we are also next door to the Provincial Campgrounds.
Remember when you book at Moonlight Bay Centre, Bissell Centre uses revenues to help fund camps for low income families.
Right now, there’s special pricing too. You can download it by CLICKING HERE.
Contact Patti Gallance for more info at [email protected] or call her at 780.242.9438.
Follow MBC on Twitter: @moonlightbayctr
[cross posted from our Face Book page– please check out our Facebook postings!]
A line starts to form at 6:30 am each morning at the Bissell Centre Drop-in. By 7:00 am, the line builds upwards to 200 individuals. What’s surprising to people is that 50-75 of those in line aren’t there for a meal or a place to rest; they are there for work.
Bissell Centre partners with 500+ employers to provide casual labour jobs for people in need. People who are working–hard–to climb out of poverty & homelessness. In 2013, our Casual Labour Program helped provide 14,000 positions, putting nearly one million dollars in the pockets of Edmontonians living in poverty.
This year we are exploring ways to expand our capacity to place more people in jobs, not only casual labour placements, but also in longer terms contracts and permanent positions. Stay tuned for more as the year progresses.
Learn more about our Employment Services and our Casual Labour Program.
This is a story in the Edmonton Journal about Bissell Centre’s Collective Kitchen. You can click on the video image below to get to it. It’s a good story, but it really is more about volunteer, Gail Hall, and the amazing women who come to Bissell Centre to learn how to do more and do better for their families.
It’s been a while since I posted a CEO Update about what has gone and is going on at Bissell Centre. Clicking for more below will get you to my report on the following:
- Our financial condition
- An overview of new and expanded programming.
- An incredible gift of land from the United Church
- Mini-reports on 24/7 MAP and our Winter Warming services
- Increasing our work with Aboriginal people
- Our commitment to evaluation
- Our progress on “spreading the word”
- A request for your advice, and
- A lot of thank you’s,
Read More…
