London winter shelters in need of more staff, volunteers due to COVID-19 isolation rules

Several shelters in London are struggling to find more staff, as the omicron variant has impacted the number of people able to lend a hand.

“As with every wave of COVID, it changes what we’re able to do and of course, we want to keep people safe,” says Sarah Campbell who works as the director of the Ark Aid Mission.

Campbell is also supervising two other drop-in shelters at the YMCA downtown and the overnight shelter at First St. Andrew’s United Church.

She says those locations have recently been operating with 25 per cent less staff and volunteers.

According to Campbell, shelters are now considered ‘high risk’ work environments, which means employees have to quarantine for 10 days, instead of five if they are exposed.

“A lot of our volunteers are choosing out of good measure for themselves to not come in, which means we need people who are feeling safe and comfortable,” she says.

The need for donations and a place to stay is always there - but especially now during the cold winter months.

“When you’re a homeless person. It’s pretty difficult to turn them away and say can you go self-isolate we have some concerns that you may be COVID positive,” Campbell says.

The overnight shelter at first St. Andrew’s has room for 40 beds, however, due to an increase in demand - employees often have to find people another place to stay.

“We’ve been asking people to double mask, bringing them food to the door, and making sure that their basic needs are met,” Campbell says. “And then giving them as much support as possible to self-isolate if they can, recognizing that probably self-isolating outside.”

As COVID-19 has caused many absences due to isolation requirements, Campbell says they are actively still searching for volunteers who can help, even if it's temporary.

Anyone looking to donate can drop off supplies at any one of their winter shelter locations.