Published September 2025
A young man in his early 30’s
A young man in his early 30’s repeatedly visited the Emergency Department – 1800 times in three years. He appeared to be shelter seeking, but in reality had an untreated/undiagnosed mental health issue. Our team advocated for a longer term mental health admission and visited him in hospital every day, building trust and offering support for his wound care and mental health. He was discharged to King Street Shelter and when that shelter closed, we helped support him to interim housing. We continue to support him regularly, in collaboration with psychiatry, primary care and access to suboxone to address substance use. He has only presented twice at hospital since December. Recently as we supported him in the settlement of his outstanding court issues, the judge read pieces of our support letter to the court, and made a point of recognizing the changes and the work this person had done to build stability.
A 26 year old man arrived at hospital
A 26 year old man arrived at hospital from a physical health emergency exacerbated by substance use. He ended up in the ICU and he was initially not expected to recover. After surgery, he had to relearn how to walk/engage in physio and learn how to live with an ostomy. While trauma made it hard for him to engage with the medical team and other supports, the SOS team was with him at the hospital daily and worked with his social worker. He was set to be discharged but had nowhere to live. Once again, we were able to find him a spot in our Hospitality House, a supported assisted living house for those who are homeless. The palliative team visits the house to provide medical supports. He was 117 pounds when he left hospital and one year later is a healthy 150 pounds. He has not been readmitted to hospital in a year.
A 19 year old man immigrated to Canada
A 19 year old man immigrated to Canada and rapidly experienced significant challenges. He lost his housing and became homeless. He struggled to work in minimum wage jobs and then had 2 strokes that limited his physical capacity. While homeless, he lost all his ID and documents. Our Money Matters team were able to support him over six months to build up each piece of documentation, to stabilize on social assistance, find housing and to manage his own budget. He no longer feels alone when grappling with all of these realities and has found stability in his life.
A man living unsheltered
A man living unsheltered was diagnosed with a serious health issue. Our Street Outreach team supported him at his encampment with regular visits and sharing of resources. We accompanied him to ongoing specialist appointments and then in motel, until he has now arranged to live with a family member for ongoing connection.
An internationally trained finance professional
An internationally trained finance professional, fluent in both English and French, was applying to a number of different jobs, got interviews, but was not hired. She joined us as a volunteer in our Tax Clinics to gain Canadian workplace experience. Reviewing and honing all the basic job search tools, we also worked on strategically applying for bilingual positions, while also supporting her to secure child care. She found work full-time as a bilingual customer service rep.
