The Beyond

The making and delivery of sandwiches creates a pathway for frequent communication with the shelters. We use this pathway to inform our community about the current and most urgent needs at the shelters. This provides people with an impactful way to connect and respond while creating important learning opportunities about the homelessness situation in our city.

Supporting shelter needs

Two programs currently work to support the needs of shelters and organizations supporting people who are at risk of homelessness; The Essentials Box Initiative and our Impactful Giving Program.

Shifting perceptions

We work to educate and shift perceptions on multiple aspects related to homelessness through our Raising Awareness Program.

The Essentials Box Initiative

The Essentials Box Initiative works to support rehousing programs in Montreal through the provision of 5 boxes: a kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, cleaning and groceries box. The objective of the initiative is to provide people moving out of homelessness or vulnerable housing situations, the basic essentials for daily living. We aim to improve the chances of a successful transition by ensuring that the essential needs of individuals are met; allowing them to eat, sleep and bathe in comfort on their first night in their new home.

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Essentials Boxes (kitchen, grocery, cleaning, bedroom and bathroom) were delivered to people moving out of homelessness as well as those at risk of homelessness in 2023.

Re-housing programs we currently support

Moving into a place after 2 years in shelters is incredible but also unsettling. These boxes have relieved such a stress of my shoulders. They've allowed me to settle nicely and comfortably. I am immensely grateful I had the chance to receive them and I want to thank anyone who was involved in the process

Box recipient

Box recipient / Box

The Essential Boxes allow a person to take possession of their home with the assurance of being able to eat, sleep and shower with dignity the first night

The Old Brewery Mission / Box

The difference between the feeling of home and a housing unit, can decide whether a vulnerable person can be stable in housing or not- the boxes allow a comfort that can improve the chances that someone will stay housed over time.

Resilience Montreal / Box

The quality of these boxes and the care in preparing them, gives the beneficiary a strong signal that every effort is made to support them in their integration efforts, and it takes place in a spirit that respects the dignity of each beneficiary.

Maison du Père / Box

Impactful giving

Inappropriate and unwanted donations lead to 1000s of wasted hours by shelter staff each year. It also takes up precious storage space and leads to waste. We work closely with our partner shelters to understand their current needs. This information is disseminated to our community through monthly Clear Out the Closet Campaigns and our NeedSeeker Platform. We also use social media and presentations to educate on how to give impactfully.

Beyond helping us feed Mission clients, the Bread and Beyond team also donated clothing and in this difficult time their contribution is simply extraordinary.

St Micheal's Mission

Beyond helping us feed Mission clients, the Bread and Beyond team also donated clothing and in this difficult time their contribution is simply extraordinary.

St Micheal's Mission / Closet

Raising awareness

Key to the success of our work is an engaged, active, knowledgeable community. We work to increase awareness of our activities and knowledge on the homeless sector to stimulate impactful engagement and encourage a shift towards informed perceptions. We do this in many ways including, workshops and presentations, social media, our website, word-of-mouth and newslettersWe can join you at your school, workplace or community group to run interactive workshops and presentations.

During these events we talk about our work as well as exploring homelessness in our city. We include sessions we explore facts rather than the myths frequently associated with homelessness, we also delve into ways you can get involved and become champions for people experiencing homelessness. These presentations can also be run together with a sandwich making event so you can immediately and directly support the shelters you have just learnt more about.

school-based workshops on homelessness were held in 2023

Maison du Père

Resilience Montreal

The Essential Boxes allow a person to take possession of their home with the assurance of being able to eat, sleep and shower with dignity the first night

The Old Brewery Mission

The presentation was excellent: Students learned a more representative definition of homelessness and the range of factors that can lead to homelessness while also being provided with current statistics showing the magnitude of the issue in Canada. As well, many myths around homelessness were debunked. But, most importantly, Kirstie presented the human side of the issue by sharing some of her encounters with people experiencing homelessness and their stories. Kirstie also made sure to end on a hopeful note by offering concrete solutions to target the problem.

Trafalgar School for Girls / Awareness

Students walked away [from the presentation] understanding that homelessness is not inevitable, that with adequate resources and the collective political will, it is a problem that can be solved. Until then, we can do our part to make life just a little bit better and a little bit easier for people who experience homelessness in Montreal…. Participating in the workshop was a great way to demonstrate to our students that, both individually and collectively, they have the power to make a positive contribution to society and offer hope to some of the most vulnerable and marginalized people in Montreal.

Loyola High School / Awareness

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