Metropolitan's outreach services have a tremendous impact on our community.

Through the Community Services Program, we welcome all who come to us. We welcome people lacking the most basic human needs: food, clothing, a place of respite from the elements, the need to be heard.

The first step in helping people is meeting the people who need help. At Metropolitan United, we have been meeting people through programs that offer assistance while beginning positive connections with caring volunteers. We have had remarkable success in getting to know people. And as people get to know each other, trust builds among them. Some of the people in need begin to feel comfortable speaking to volunteers and facilitators about challenges in their lives. Some may want a home. Some need comfort. Some need help with specific problems in their lives.

Join us for our BBQ fundraiser to raise money for community services programs.

Our dedicated community services staff and volunteers will be BBQing hotdogs and burgers and selling them with pop for $2.

Mission

To serve people who are suffering and seeking resources and community to resolve their needs.

People

Click here for a list of the dedicated staff of the Community Services team.

Getting Involved

There are many opportunities to get involved with the Community Services team, and with Out of the Cold. If you wish, take a look at the volunteer opportunities listed on the right.

You can't buy your way to heaven through good works, but you can try to build a better society here and now. Past congregations have believed this is so, and the organizations they created have made Metropolitan a leader in supporting people who need help in Toronto's downtown core, no matter what their religious affiliation. Here are just three community-based organizations that have come a long way since they were born from the heart of Met.

Metropolitan will be celebrating National Volunteer Week (April 15-21, 2007) by recognizing our volunteers after the Sunday 11 a.m. service on April 15.

Mandate

To provide opportunities to put faith into action in the broader community.

Metropolitan United Church is part of a large network of organizations in downtown Toronto that provide food, housing, counselling and support to those in need. This site provides information about the organizations that help support our weekday visitors.

We also have a long history of innovation in reaching out to the community, from the founding of the Fred Victor Centre for homeless people, to the creation of Sojourn House, a temporary residence for refugees.

Metropolitan's Community Services outreach programs help people in need, and this is our way of putting faith into action in the broader community. Our programs assist with food and clothing and provide counseling and referrals to appropriate community resources. Staff assist clients in moving to greater independence by helping them to access housing and employment and by providing ongoing support. The immediate objective is to help people recover their self-esteem and get back on their feet. The church's longer-term goal is to work for social justice in society.

Bill Chapman - Director of Community Services 416-363-0331 ext. 22

Michaell Dunn - Outreach and Support Worker 416-363-0331 ext. 21

Doreth Brown - Community Services Counselor 416-363-0331 ext. 43

Rowena Hill - Community Services Counselor 416-363-0331 ext. 41

Community Services staff

Community Services
Community Services operates from Monday to Friday in the Met Centre, offering a variety of programs and services supported by paid staff and volunteers. Community Services welcomes all who come in the door. The focus of support is on those who are hungry, those who need housing or support to maintain their housing, those with mental health or addiction issues, and those who need to re-establish their place in a supportive community.

Metropolitan's Out of the Cold team provides a Thursday mid-day dinner for those in need from November to April. There are volunteer opportunities on Wednesday and Thursday during those months. Members of the Wednesday food preparation group gather in the kitchen of the Met Centre to do the chopping and preparing. Thursday is busy with setting up, serving and visiting with the guests, and clean up. In Winter 2005-2006, hundreds of volunteer hours put over 5,000 meals into the hands of visitors, either on the tables or as take-home packages.

Meal Programs