Inn from the Cold helping dozens of children every night

It’s difficult enough being a young person with the pressures of school and social settings, but what about the added stress of not having a home?

That’s a reality for the 60 to 70 Calgary children sleeping at Inn from the Cold on a nightly basis.

“What that tells us is that we have a persistent challenge when it comes to family, particularly child homelessness here in the city,” Inn from the Cold execute director Abe Brown explained. “A homeless child as part of a family tells us we still have challenges here with respect to helping the most vulnerable and there’s nothing more heart-wrenching than seeing a homeless child.

“They go to school like any other kid, but bring homework back to a shelter. Researchers tell us this creates a toxic stress in the life of a child, which impacts their brain development and can have impacts upon them for the rest of their lives. A lot of intervention at Inn from the Cold is not just food, clothing and shelter, but it’s also development programs, access to mental health professionals and supporting these children so they don’t have to grow up carrying the sense they are different or ‘less than’ because they happen to be homeless.”

The main shelter has a capacity for around 30 families, and when that is full, an overflow opens at the Knox United Church. As of Wednesday night, the overflow has been used 13 times this year.

In an effort to raise funds, the 6th annual Claire’s Campaign has kicked off for the shelter and runs for the month of May. However, officials at Inn from the Cold know that monetary donations are not always an option for Calgarians. But there are different ways to help.

“We are always looking for volunteers to do meal services or help with projects around the building,” Brown said. “Another way is through giving hygiene products. Anything you can think of that babies need, from diapers to formula to baby bottles and clothes. We go through that like crazy. The other thing I encourage is social media, like sharing a post from Inn from the Cold.”

For more information visit https://innfromthecold.org/.

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