Cawthra Shelter

I went to drop a friend of mine off at this shelter and was turned off by the staff members lack of professionalism. It had already been a long and bad day for the both of us especially my friend. My friend came back out to retrieve their belongings as I had waited for him to check in, so that I know things were okay. A security guard from Intelligarde then approached aggressively telling us to get inside as though we were little kids. He then came up to my car asking for my name. I informed him that I do not reside at the shelter and I was just dropping off my friend. He couldn't comprehend that and called the two black female staff members outside. Now I had three dimwits in my face telling me I can't be on their property even though I kept telling them I was just dropping my friend off. Keep in mind I was doing nothing wrong and my friend was also present during this time as I mentioned before was retrieving his bags from my car. The security guard kept telling me that the Cawthra Shelter was his property as though he was the CEO and was rude as he kept aggressively talking to me as though he was a cop. He even pointed his finger in my face which constitutes assault. The female staff members were also rude as they do not belong in the position they hold. They both looked ratchet and un-kept and were not dressed in business casual attire. They looked more like inmates than social workers. There is a way to talk to people without demeaning them. Like who did they think they were talking too anyways??? Did they think they were talking to the drug addicts in the shelter. They need to be investigated.

I was at the shelter for 40 days. The bathroom had mold so bad I started to get a bad cough. There was also no working air conditioning in the room. But you better believe that the staff room had air conditioning. I saw everything from fights to people shooting up in the public washroom. Just some advice to people who are currently staying there. Keep a bottle of hand sanitizer with you. Don't touch anything with your bare hands. It was a eye opening experience.

It's helpful but some staff members always yell at the homeless clients

Horrible place to stay!! Majority of the staff lacks empathy and basic humanitarian compassion. They are definitely on a power trip, I wouldn't allow my dog to stay at this place. I was told upon my arrival by other people that were staying there that the staff treated them like dogs and let me just say they were 100% accurate. I had the opportunity to meet with a Kulwinder well let's just say she was a real treat!

Nice place to be when trying to start again... But so far two employees of the shelter, which are salvation army officials have some kind of power control issues.. like for instance a client of the place with a serous back injury is forced to lay on their uncomfortable mattress, the client chooses the floor and they send him to the hospital for a recommendation as said by staff... just to return and still lay on the floor as where the client feel better. Now I'm no doctor in back injures, but I do know the floor helps. But all in and said... it's a good place, the staff need some kind of class or education to learn about people and their bodies and mental health... thanks to the staff/soldiers that have it right... thank you Jah bless

Free meals but very strict rules. Curfew applies it's strictly at 10. The place is very spartan. The scene is pretty sketchy and police are often around.

I traveled from Ohio and stayed there back in 2001 when it was still a hotel and had a great time. The bar across the street was a cool hangout. Then I returned in 2004 hoping to get a room again and it had been turned into a homeless shelter. I was like holy sh*t! God bless everyone!

The Salvation Army shelter is a place where anyone might find themselves from any walk of Life. The facilities have been updated a bit. Cleaner still a matter of making good choices for your life. I got to drop off a friend here recently a good older fellow many people know. Who I've spent time with over the years. These streets I've known well but try to find yourself a warm place off them. It's easy to want to escape with drugs or alcohol but it's better to find a better life???‍♂️? I myself have lived here only temporarily for a month or two a few years ago after my home invasion in 2015 but found that the staff were as helpful as they possibly could be despite the difficulties of life in a situation like a shelter. Whatever you might think about people from any walk of Life remember please that no matter what part of the world you come from there are always going to be problems so be cautious if you have to find yourself living in a shelter to do your best to respect yourself and others as it is a two-way street and you cannot buy respect. So please remember that no matter who you are we all deserve a chance because sometimes the staff here are not appropriate with people and sometimes the people are not appropriate with staff but that's what it takes when you work in community service it takes dedication and despite people who feel that there should be more opportunities for housing which there should be, in the end it's up to us as a community and society to try to help each other to get off the streets and stay off the streets. Thanks to Abigail Stella blessing Trevor and the whole crew who do a great job with the Salvation Army including their manager Fred I believe his name is lol. I know this because I had a couple of rough times in the last few years and take it from me that you can either continue to play the victim and be traumatized or try to persevere without victimizing and traumatizing others. ??‍♂️???♂️♀️??????