Welcome to MatthewHouse.com
Our History
Matthew House grew out of a vision of its founder and current director, Anne Woolger-Bell who had worked for many years at a city-run shelter for refugees in Toronto. While working at the city shelter, her eyes were opened to the plight of "unsponsored" refugee claimants arriving in Toronto. Realizing that there was a great shortage of appropriate shelters geared specifically toward the unique settlement needs of refugee claimants, Anne approached her denominational leaders in the early 1990's asking them to consider establishing a reception home for refugees. In October 1996, a new refugee ministry was created and Anne was appointed its first director. In August 1998 a permanent home was opened in central Toronto able to shelter approximately 12 refugees at any given time.
Since opening, Matthew House has welcomed more than1000 refugees from over 80 different nations. Sadly however it has turned away more than four times the number it has sheltered other due to lack of space. The need for decent shelter for refugees far outweighs the supply. Therefore Matthew House also serves as a catalyst and ministry model to encourage and inspire other groups to develop their own ministries to refugees. There are now other refugee shelters in Ft. Erie, Windsor, Hamilton, Cambridge, and Vancouver, Montreal (and soon Ottawa) that have been opened as a result of Matthew House,Toronto's inspiration.
Matthew House Toronto is a non profit corporation with registered charitable status. It has grown from having one permanent fulltime staff member to having 3 fulltime, four part time staff and many many volunteers.
In 2007 Matthew House opened an additional home in the Parkdale area to serve as a "Transition Home" for refugees who passed through the main shelter and who were deemed to be particularly vulnerable (cush as unaccompanied minors, single parents or those with special needs). This program had been augmented by a partnership with World Vision Canada called "Partners to End Child Poverty". In 2009, the grant from World Vision ended and we are currently seeking other funders to support this vital program.
Matthew House is able to exist thanks to the generous support of private individuals, churches and foundations who care about refugees. We do not receive any direct government funding. Therefore we continually welcome and appreciate ongoing support!!
Please Note: Matthew House does NOT do overseas refugee sponsorship to Canada but simply welcomes those who spontaneously arrive here seeking refuge and support.
