UFCW Local 175 donates van to Shelter House Thunder Bay

At an event held in Thunder Bay this morning, Locals 175 & 633 donated a Sprinter passenger van to Shelter House Thunder Bay to assist with their valuable work and to support the community of Thunder Bay. This donation will allow Shelter House to resume one of their programs which was temporarily stopped at the beginning of the pandemic.

“Our Local Union is a part of this community and we wanted to find a way to support those in need,” said Shawn Haggerty, President of Local 175. “The pandemic has shown, now more than ever, the value of working to support one another. We’re proud to be able to offer this resource to assist Shelter House in the work of caring for those in need.”

Shelter House Thunder Bay supports the community through four main programs:

• Emergency shelter;
• Feeding program;
• Street Outreach Service; and,
• Kwae Kii Win managed alcohol program.

“This donation means a lot to our clients that struggle in our community and are in crisis. For the program, it allows us to have a secondary option when the other van requires maintenance,” said Michelle Jordan, Executive Director of Shelter House. “This also gives us the opportunity to reevaluate the program needs and how we may be able to expand.”

Shelter House provides short-term relief to those in need of shelter, food, clothing and access to resources to support their transition toward successful independent living. Shelter House also forges community links, identifies gaps in service currently being provided for its clients by the community and acts as an advocate for change.

Learn more about Shelter House on their website here: https://www.shelterhouse.on.ca/

Locals 175 & 633 represents over 3,000 workers in in Thunder Bay, working in most sectors of the economy including retail grocery and pharmacy, industrial, health care and hospitality.