Looking at 2024...

With heading into a New Year, we are taking stock of what we’re able to do and accomplish through our programming at Royal City Mission. In 2023 we were able to be open for significantly more hours than we ever have by entering into an Agreement for 2023 with the City of Guelph. With the growing need for our services in Guelph, the ever-increasing costs of operating a Drop-In, and the costs of providing adequate staff care, we discovered that in 2024 we would not be able to sustain a similar Agreement due to financial constraints. So, we went to City Hall to see if a new Agreement could be reached.

Fortunately, the City has agreed to fund a portion of RCM’s Drop-In programming from January 2024 to March 2024 (equivalent to 3 hours a day / 6 days a week). Unfortunately, this funding does not match what it would take to remain open at 2023’s scale. This means that we will have to reduce our Drop-In program’s hours of operations and have laid off seven RCM drop-in staff.

Starting January 1, 2024, our Drop-In program will be open from 12pm to 7pm.

Something New...

However, though we are reducing our overall hours, we are doing something new for RCM (and something that has been a major gap in services in Guelph). Starting January 1, 2024 our Drop-In & Meal Programs will also be open on Sundays. Our hope is that though we can’t be open at the same scale as 2023, we can provide care & support where (and when) it is most needed.

Top 3 Needs To Launch
& Sustain Sunday Drop-In…

1
Volunteers
We’re going to have to build a whole new day of volunteers on Sundays. If you know of anyone who might be interested in volunteering Sundays, please direct them to Amanda or royalcitymission.ca/volunteer

2
Meals
We’ll be continuing to offer lunches (12pm) and suppers (6pm) in 2024. We’ll need new groups to help provide a meal on Sundays. If a group you’re involved with is interested in providing a regular meal on Sundays, please reach out to Lisa.

3
Donations
Keeping our Drop-In open takes money. We’re incredibly thankful to everyone who has been giving and has helped us get to this point. As we look at 2024, we’ll still need to raise significant funds to ensure that we can offer programming at this scale. If friends and family are looking to financially contribute, please direct them towards royalcitymission.ca/donate