London's Anglican churches give $50K to help house the homeless

For the second year in a row, area Anglican churches have come together to assist an organization that helps those who are struggling with homelessness.

The Embassy Commons on Dundas Street is nearing completion. It's a project by Indwell, a non-profit that helps those struggling with homelessness.

And because they too needed help with funding, local Anglican churches have come through with $50,000 over the past 12 months.

Canon Keith Nethery, rector with St. James Anglican Church, said, "We need to do this every day or every week. There are people in our community that need help on many levels, in many ways, and the church is always called to be one of the first people to say OK we’ll help."

Indwell's Julie Ryan explains that local contributions really add up.

"Every dollar we’re able to raise from the community, we’re able to leverage out $10 from national, provincial and local sources of government funding so it really makes a difference."

And the money is going where it is very much needed, adds Reverend Kevin George of St. Aidan's Anglican Church.

"Every $2,500 that we give furnishes and apartment for someone who’s going to be moving in. So $50,000 from the Anglican churches in London, that means 25 fully furnished apartments for people who are right now needing to be housed."

Embassy Commons will be the second of three projects that Indwell is constructing in London.

"We’re on track to build 250 affordable, deeply affordable, housing with supports, with on-site supports within the next two years," Ryan said.

Indwell has a community fundraising goal of $2 million, but they’re still short by about $350,000.

And Indwell provides more than just a place to sleep.

"If you’re coming from, you know, living under a tarp for the last year, you need more than just a roof over your head. You need some support to get back on your feet and that’s what we do," Ryan said. "We have people in-house, nursing support, addiction support, food security so that people can be part of a community, they can feel loved, they can feel like they belong and they can begin re-building their lives and contributing back."

Anyone interested in supporting the project can donate here.