New Siloam Mission van hits the streets to develop laundry enterprise, provide ‘clear begin’ for workers

A Winnipeg shelter’s laundry enterprise, which offers jobs to folks with out housing, can hit the highway due to a donation of a van.

Brothers Dan and Josh Chisick of Industrial Metals lately gave a van to Siloam Mission, which “made actual for us a dream,” CEO Tessa Blaikie Whitecloud stated.

Siloam Mission began a laundry service social enterprise in December 2019, which has grown from doing the shelter’s laundry to taking over a number of business laundry contracts, together with doing the work at price for different shelters.

“Our largest barrier in getting new shoppers to develop this program — providing extra employment to folks accessing shelter or who had been precariously housed earlier than or had skilled homelessness earlier than — is that we could not do pickup and supply, however no extra,” she stated at a information convention on Friday.

There are presently seven folks employed within the laundry service, and the enterprise now has the capability to scale up considerably, with extra employees and probably extra laundry machines to fulfill any new work that comes, Siloam says.

Josh Chisick stated he and his brother have been moved by a donation request they obtained from the charity months in the past, calling for folks to assist develop the social enterprise.

“We’re proud to be a part of this program … and make their dream actual,” he stated on the information convention.

Altering lives

Greg Marsh, the co-ordinator of social enterprises at Siloam, together with the laundry program, stated he is witnessed “radical modifications” among the many individuals who have been employed with this system.

“Since we started, one individual already had their very own place, everybody else has moved out of the shelter and we had one one who moved out of Manitoba Housing into his personal place,” he stated.

Some folks have moved on from their jobs at Siloam to work elsewhere.

“To me, if you are going to do laundry, that is the form of place to carry your laundry, the place it isn’t simply popping out clear, however you are altering lives,” Marsh stated.

Blaikie Whitecloud stated this system helps individuals who face challenges discovering and retaining jobs, providing them “a clear begin,” which is the slogan on the corporate’s brand.

“A giant a part of what we do right here is attempt to make it possible for folks have entry to the alternatives that they should remodel their very own lives, and an enormous piece of that’s employment,” she stated.