Help provide hampers to low-income families this winter

Vancouver is one of the world’s most desirable cities but it’s also one of the most expensive. Every day, thousands of your neighbours are struggling with poverty, homelessness and addiction. It’s hard to survive.

The statistics are staggering:

• Five people become homeless every week.
• Vancouver is 1,156 shelter beds short of providing everyone with refuge.
• 50% of people facing homelessness report that high rent costs are causing them to be homeless.
• 10% of Vancouver’s working population are still below BC’s poverty line.

The problem is complicated, but together, we can transform communities. Whether a man is struggling with addiction, a child is in need of homework help, a woman coming from a past of abuse is looking for genuine care and love, an individual is working to complete his or her GED, or a single parent is having trouble affording nutritious food for their family, UGM works to meet and serve people where they are at.

Being homeless in the winter is challenging. We are in need of support to help provide 225 hampers for low-income families and for assistance with our emergency weather programs.

	Above: Frank has benefited from the services of UGM.

This winter alone, UGM expects to serve 67,000 meals, provide 10,000+ nights of warm, safe shelter, distribute more than 1,400 pieces of warm clothing and provide over 100 people the opportunity to enroll in our Drug and Alcohol Recovery Programs. The winter season is one of the hardest for the homeless – but with the support of the community, UGM will be there to provide critically needed support to help people like Frank.

Frank’s life was filled with hardships due to horrific abuse and injustice inflicted on him and his family as Indigenous people. When life only got worse, Frank turned to alcohol and crack cocaine for comfort. Unfortunately, that only led him into a battle with addiction, which could have ended fatally. At Union Gospel Mission, Frank was welcomed into Alcohol & Drug Recovery as soon as he walked in and asked for a bed. Frank has been free of addiction for three years, is safely housed at UGM, and is inspiring others through newfound academic achievements. He is proud to be making family history as the first person to attend university.

We need your help. Together, we can change the lives of people like Frank and help people experience safety, dignity, and hope – all of which can lead to lifelong transformation.

To learn more about how to partner with UGM to care for our community, contact corporategiving@ugm.ca or visit www.ugm.ca.