Community Spotlight: House of Friendship
There's no shortage of good work happening locally - let's take a closer look!
The Community Spotlight highlights one of the many local organizations and/or individuals making our community a better, safer, and more equitable world. With the recent announcement that the House of Friendship’s long-time CEO, John Neufeld, will be stepping down later this year, I thought it made sense to share a bit about the House of Friendship.
In last month’s announcement, John said that he has a “deep gratitude and admiration” for House of Friendship’s donors, community partners, and clients, but that “it is time to contribute to our community in a different way.” Starting this November, John will move into a new role as the CEO of the Lyle S. Hallman Foundation.
While John served at House of Friendship for 16 years, the organization has actually been around for 86 years and their mission and services have grown and adapted to the needs of the community over that time.
House of Friendship’s story began in 1939, when a women’s prayer group saw men who were struggling with hunger and they started feeding the men warm, home-cooked meals.
“Out of these humble beginnings, supported by the local Christian community, the ‘House of Friendship for All Nations’ was born, originally housed in a store-front mission on King Street in downtown Kitchener.”
Much of the work the House of Friendship is involved in these days focuses on providing addiction treatment, food, housing, and community resources throughout Waterloo Region. They offer:
Emergency and Christmas food hampers
Addiction treatment supports through counselling, day treatment, and residential treatment options
Housing by offering shelter (using their Shelter Care model), and supportive and affordable housing
House of Friendship is working towards bringing more supportive and affordable housing to the community with Friendship Village. The first phase, which is currently under construction, will see 100 new units added to the community hub that also includes the Charles and Eby Village buildings in downtown Kitchener.
“We know it takes more than a roof or affordable rent to change a life. At Friendship Village, healthcare and wraparound supports are an essential component – helping individuals get healthier, staying housed for the long term.”
Like so many local organizations serving our community, House of Friendship relies on donations of time and finances. If you’re able, please considering donating or volunteering.
I find that, along with the Working Centre, the House of Friendship is one of those organizations that many folks have been connected to in some way, whether they worked there, benefitted from any of their many services, or volunteered there at some point. For me, House of Friendship was my first job after graduation. I was the Preschool Teacher for the ESL program at Sunnydale and Courtland-Shelley for a time. I’ve always been thankful to have gained a better understanding of the work of the House of Friendship through that job. If you have a personal connection to the House of Friendship, feel free to share it in the comments!
We are very fortunate to have the House of Friendship! A bit of its early history is in Karl Kessler's "Path of a People, Erb Street Mennonite Church 1851-2001." (There are many references to its support for the House of Friendship and other Mennonite organizations.) One is that member Ilda Bauman was a worker at the House of Friendship "from its very first days in 1939, and was a central figure there until 1949." 😊