Our Story Says a Lot About Us
The Good Neighbours’ Club was started in tough times—some of the toughest this country has ever seen, during the Great Depression. It was founded by a woman Mary Birchard, for elder men, many of them veterans of the WWI, who were experiencing their own tough times, and needed a place to be and to belong. Since 1933, "the Club" has been a home-away-from-home for men over the age of 50 who are in shelters and rooming houses, bunking on a friend's couch, or even a park bench. Click here for more information about the services we offer.
We Offer the Basics… and a Whole Lot More
We're open from 8:00am to 5:00pm 365 days a year to provide essentials that men of limited means might need, such as nourishing hot meals for a dollar, newly renovated hot showers, washers and dryers for fifty cents, free clothing, winter coats, and shoes, free mail service, free phones, meals on wheels, computers with free internet, private library service, haircutting, peace and quiet, and companionship.
Only Men. Only Members. Only Over Fifty.
Our culture can be pretty focused on youth, and older men can wonder if there's any place left for them. What we might lack in luxury but we more than make up for it in understanding that everyone needs a place where they can feel safe, respected, and understood.
And Yes, We're Really a Club.
Perhaps the biggest difference you'll find between the Good Neighbours’ Club and other places is that we really are a Club.
Our members adhere to a code of conduct; they participate in meetings with staff and key volunteers; they work right alongside management and staff in preparing meals, keeping the building clean, in distributing clothing, and all of our basic services.
That's because "good Neighbours" isn't just a philosophy or a slogan, it's who all of us really want to be. The Club just tries to make room for that to happen.
Annual Day of the Homeless
The Day of the Homeless began as a memorial for Good Neighbours’ Club member Paul Croutch, whose senseless death outraged the community. We continue the event annually as a tribute to him and to our members who have died in the last year, but also to express our solidarity with the homeless and the marginalized in our city.
Charitable Number 11894 1269 RR0001
View Our Annual Report
