Christine’s story

Christine first found herself sleeping outside during the summer after months of couch surfing. She dreaded the cold coming. There was record-breaking cold that winter, and Christine seriously thought that she would freeze out on the streets of Toronto. It was a matter of life and death.

Thankfully, one of Fred Victor’s outreach workers connected with Christine and told her about our warming centres. Warming centres give people experiencing homelessness a warm indoor place to rest, access meals and washrooms, and receive referrals to community services. Christine was able to simply walk into one of our warming centre locations and find refuge from the harsh winter conditions outside. Here, Christine found the solace she was searching for. The staff were compassionate and kind. When she talked to them, she realised that many were participants from our employment and training program who had lived experiences of homelessness. They were able to meet her where she was at because they had been there before, too. Today, Christine has connected with stable housing and is exploring training programs in the field of social services. She found healing for herself and wants to extend that healing to others.

Fred Victor’s warming centres keep people safe in extreme cold and offer pathways to support. You want to help? Fred Victor knows how to turn warmth into long-term stability.

Your donation today helps more people like Christine get inside and move forward.

Photos and identifying details have been changed to protect the identity of our clients.