Blue Door Shelters

The staff are great. A very peaceful place and very nice grounds. IGNORE ALL OTHER REMARKS

Porter place is the only full time men's shelter they can handle up to 30 men,we are very fortunate to have this shelter in york region,it's a fact anyone can fall down in life this far .

Phenomenal staff, the best shelter in the
province. We are fortunate that it is in
York Region

ROOMS:
The room you will receive has 3 beds, a bunk bed and a normal one, a washroom with a nice shower/toilet/sink.

FELLOW RESIDENTS:
The fellow residents are very sweet, although some do smoke weed/etc and stink up the place & won't be reminded not to by the staff. And at times there will be a lice problem, so you will need to re wash all your stuff & get checked by the person the staff calls in to check for lice in everyones head.

FOOD PROVIDED:
The food has it's good days and the days were its burnt/salty/tasteless. The staff will be on your case to get house searching, being "helpful" by giving unhygienic/out of price range places to rent. There are wake up calls in the morning, and you arent allowed to stay in the room.

TOOLS AVAILABLE:
There are 3 computers to use for adults only, to search for places/ do research etc. Those computers DONT have Microsoft word & in order to print you will have go into your own email, attach the file and send to their email, then ask them to print it for you.

When printing or copying stuff for you they WILL pay attention and write off things at times, so dont be surprised if the staff members know your business, there's no privacy best get used to it.

The staff will need to know where you're going every time you leave, you are only able to stay out for one night, and the curfew is 1 am, all adults need to be out of their rooms by 9am. The stay will need to see the fruits of your search so make a hard copy of it, for yourself & them. There will be ow workers, that show up on certain days, or a person to help you "adjust" after moving out.

WASHING:
There are 3 washing machines & dryers, for resident use.

FOR ADULTS/KIDS:
If you need coats/etc they are NOT provided. You will have to get it on your own. Your kids are not allowed to be out of sight/ need to be in the same room as you. They staff will be watching, and warning you before writing you up about it. There are cooking classes/yoga for everyone. There is a school bus that will pick up the kids & the staff make breakfast/lunch for kids only. They are two computers with no internet that have mincraft games for kids to use. There's also a small play ground out back. In the tv/computer room, residents may watch the tv, or read from the shelves. There's a room next to that, where younger toddlers may play with toys.

FOOD:
Lunch/dinner/ snack are provided for everyone, every day. There is a fridge outside for the residence use, unfortunately it smells awful & the food you put it may missing. Lunch is at Noon, Dinner is at 5-6:00pm, snack is at 7:00pm

TRAVEL INFO:
As for travel there is a paid by the shelter cab/yrt to pick you up at certain times in the morning & pick you up at the bus terminal, in the evening at certain times. Even for work or house search the staff will only give you a bus ticket ONE TIME per person.

There is Dial-a-ride, which runs for tht route to the shelter and costs only $4, if you need to get to/from the bus terminal, not in the specified times.

IMPORTANT TO NOTE:
As a FAMILY shelter childless couples can NOT stay if their partner leaves to stay in the hospital/or goes elsewhere.

WHEN TOLD TO LEAVE:
If you stayed passed your allowed time and a family needs the room, the staff will tell them to come to the shelter, then tell you a family is here & waiting on your room, so you need to leave right away. **DO NOT EXPECT ADVANCED NOTICE**If the staff say they found a shelter for you to transfer to, they will not ask if there is a baggage limit, if it's a bed or a cot on the ground, if you will have a seperate if shared room, what the general rules are.(chances are it will be worst than the one at that shelter). There WILL be a baggage limit, different shelters go frm 1-2 bags, and at that shelter a family may have anywhere frm 1-10? (Or whatever would fit in the room & not block the path, you will be kicked out if you leave things on the floor/block the ur room door space since it's a fire hazard)

Overall it's a great place to be short term. (Gwilliumbury, Holland Shelter)

Was fine the last time I attended , thinking about returning. But might wait just to see if labour pooling picks up. But was well managed, well supervised, great food, TV room with a DVD player, just a ball kick being at the shelter. But the places fridge policy, good people and staff plus a decent bunk mate make a decent setting. Was fine for the family shelter across the way.