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Mobile Jewish Response to the Homeless Van

MJRH Van III

MJRH Schedule

MJRH Van V

  • Sunday: 9am-4pm
  • Tuesday 6pm to 12 midnight
  • Wednesday 6pm to 12 midnight
  • Thursday 6pm to 12 midnight

If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Tessa Wookey at volunteerinfo@veahavta.org or at 416-964-7698 ext. 16.

Depending on the season, shifts are booked 2-4 weeks in advance.

With your help the MJRH program is now making a difference. Together we have:

  • Distributed over 5,000 meals a year
  • Took over 520 emergency calls
  • Distributed over 62,000 pairs of socks, 5,000 t-shirts, 1,200 jackets & 275 TTC tokens
  • Teamed up with other high support agencies and encouraged people to work towards more positive lifestyles
   I’ve come to see that, despite being homeless, many individuals are smarter, funnier, and more well read than I am. I have a newfound respect for many of them.
- Seth Climans, MJRH volunteer

MJRH History

In most cases, the person sitting on the sidewalk requires more than food and clothing, they also require another human’s time and compassion. This is when our outreach professionals use their unique communication skills to help them believe, if but for a moment, that they are worthy of respect. The more we can foster self-respect, the more believable the option of moving inside becomes.

The cargo on the MJRH van contains survival necessities such as clothing, toiletries, eyeglasses, resource materials, sandwiches, hot coffee, and snacks. We also carry gift baskets of everyday necessities, provided by your participation in our Bnei Mitzvah and Simcha Basket programs. These are tools we use to accelerate the development of relationships with people society has all but forgotten.

MJRH Van IV

Our Volunteers

We encourage all members of the “housed” community, aged 12 and up, to join us in making a difference.

Our volunteers deepen their understanding with this disheartening social malaise. They quickly discover the misconceived “us and them” perspective is in reality just “us”. Sensitivity toward others is heightened and their personal will to respond is activated.
Ve’ahavta depends on our volunteers to help deliver this vital service.

   We were surprised to have such intelligent, interesting conversations with some of these people. Recently, we were stopped at a light at one of the van stop locations, and began to chat with one of the van’s clientele about meeting him the previous week. It was amazing to be able to interact instead of just “ignore”. Made us feel better about the world and it was equalizing somehow.
- Rachel Yaegar, MJRH volunteer

Ve’ahavta depends on our volunteers to help deliver this vital service.

Financial Costs

Delivery of this vital service is not free. Each 8-hour shift of the MJRH Van costs Ve’ahavta approximately $400.00.

This program is valuable both to volunteers and to those we assist. Please help Ve’ahavta keep the Mobile Jewish Response to the Homeless on the road. Consider donating one of the following amounts:

  • $400 to sponsor a full 8-hour shift
  • $200 half shift
  • $100 quarter shift
  • $72 4 X Chai
  • $36 2 X Chai
  • $18 Chai
  • Another amount

Donate online, by phone at 416-964-7698 Ext. 21, or by sending a cheque (payable to Ve’ahavta MJRH) to:
Ve’ahavta: The Canadian Jewish Humanitarian and Relief Committee
2221 Yonge St. Suite LL12
Toronto, Ontario
M4S 2B4
Canada

   I have come to realize that even though one may not have money, shelter or even more than a few pairs of clothes, one does have a heart. And in that heart flows the same blood as I. A few years ago, I traveled to Turkey where I met some amazing friends. They lived in places where the stairs were ready to cave in at any time. Most of them ate one meal a day, if that, and slept in a room with 20 other guys with no blankets in the winter. Some days they did not earn anything, but yet they always spent their last cent buying me a cup of Apple Tea, providing me with warmth and friendship.

   In their eyes, I was their big sister and their love and compassion towards me showed me that one must look past what is on the outside to see how beautiful and precious one is and that the Almighty really does reside in all of us no matter what circumstances he presently faces.
- Sangita Patel, MJRH volunteer