FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Harvest House Atlantic is a faith-based non-profit mission that seeks to help those within the community through our specific programs in Addiction Recovery and Step Up Housing. Understanding that there are needs outside of our programs, Harvest House also operates a 60-bed emergency shelter for both men and women, as well as a community centre for those seeking a place to drop in for a meal, seeking information pertaining to community resources or to discuss next steps with our staff. Our Mission is connecting people of compassion with those in need, to make a difference.

Our hours of operation vary between the week and week-end. It should be noted that when heavy rain, snow, ice, or weather warnings are in effect, our Community Centre may open for the day.

• 8:00am-8:30am – Breakfast open to all within the community
• 8:30am-5:00pm – Community Centre is closed *
• 5:00pm-5:30pm – Dinner open to all within the community
• 5:00pm-8:00pm – Community Centre is open to anyone
• 8:00pm-9:00pm – Sign in for overnight shelter
• 9:00pm-8:00am – Overnight shelter for those who have signed in

*Although the centre is closed during the day, the general public and guests are invited to partake in chapel and/or devotions between 9:00am-10:00am and 4:00pm-5:00pm

• 9:00am-9:30am – Breakfast open to all within the community
• 9:30am-9:00pm – Community Centre open to all within the community
• 8:00pm-9:00pm – Sign in for overnight shelter
• 9:00pm-8:00am – Overnight shelter for those who have signed in

Harvest House operates a 60-bed damp to dry shelter model. If a new guest arrives to our shelter under the influence, they may be admitted for the first evening if there is no threat to other guests or themselves on site. Guests are expected to arrive for sign in during the designated time and to cooperate with the expectations set out for them when staying within the shelter. Attending chapel and/or devotions is not a requirement for anyone to be admitted into the shelter but anyone is welcome.

Harvest House believes in providing people with an opportunity to enter our programs in order to seek support in taking steps to change their circumstances. Our approach is one of a redemptive culture that realizes that people are broken and hurting and that one chance to succeed is not enough. We come alongside those who wish to make a change and work with them through their stumbles along the way.

Some guests may find themselves barred from our properties for a period of a few hours right up to 30 days or beyond depending upon infractions. Although staff enforce these bars, a redemptive model can be exercised if a guest returns seeking forgiveness for their behavior. Redemption typically involves apologizing to those that have been hurt by their actions and light duties to help give back to the community.

Minor infractions can result in being asked to go for a walk and cool off or up to 7 days depending upon repeated actions.

“Bars” are given to guests based on either minor or major infractions. Minor infractions can result in a 7-day bar from the property and include, inappropriate sexual behaviour, swearing, racial slurs, verbal abuse towards other guests, volunteers or staff and bullying.

Major infractions are of the more serious nature and typically will result in a 30-day or indefinite bar from the property. Major infractions include any substance abuse on site, violence, threats (with or without weapons), theft of personal property.

All infractions can be appealed by asking for redemption if they would like to sincerely find a way to be restored in a productive way.

Harvest House is blessed to have such a generous community who support on a regular basis with a variety of in-kind donations. Anyone wishing to donate in-kind donations should call first at 506-855-0626 to confirm that the items are needed.

• Clothing: Harvest House does not accept donations of clothing. Anyone wishing to donate clothing are asked to bring their donation to Boutique Encore located at 475 St. George Street. Harvest House and Boutique Encore have a partnership where guests who stay with us can access free clothing at Boutique Encore.
• Hygiene / Health-Care Items: These items are sorted and stored for use within our shelter, centre, Addiction Recovery and Step Up programs. Any guest may ask for hygiene / health care items from a staff member.
• Household Items / Appliances: With limited storage space. Harvest House can only receive certain household items / appliances. These items are used within our Addiction Recovery and Step Up houses to help provide the needed supplies for day-to-day operations. If you would like to donate Household Items or Appliances please call our office at 506-855-0626 to seek information if your item is needed at that time.
• Food: Harvest House accepts most food items for preparing meals within the Community Centre, as well as supporting those within programs. Food that is provided that is past the expiry date will be discarded for safety reasons.

Harvest House believes in providing volunteer and employment opportunities to those within the community, including from Shelter, Addiction Recovery, and Step Up. Processes and procedures are in place to which are designed to protect both guests and staff. Over the past several years, additional resources have been put in place to both formalize these checks and balances, while increasing accountability.

We realize that it can be delicate to manage a redemptive model for both guests and staff, and works daily to ensure that safety of all is of the utmost importance. This is why anyone who has had a first-hand incident that needs to be reported can do so with staff directly, anonymously within the box found within the centre or by EMAIL

Our Redemption model is designed for those who have been asked to leave or have been barred for inappropriate behaviour. If someone has been asked to leave for any length of time because of harmful behaviour and they sincerely want to find a way to come back into the centre/shelter they can ask to redeem themselves and we will give them an opportunity to make things right by contributing in some way to our community.

We are also committed to giving people who have come through our programs and community a chance to become part of our community and volunteer and learn to pay it forward and become past of our faith community while being mentored and encouraged to become valuable contributors to our community. We believe everyone needs an opportunity to have a fresh start and learn to be productive. When they miss the mark we believe in giving feedback and helping people learn with us the value of guidance while learning to serve.

Harvest House has been operating in one of the most difficult fields since 1997. During this time, there have been many issues and challenges that the organization has faced. Each of these has helped to shape the policies and procedures that exist today. The one thing that never changes at Harvest House is that we are always willing to change to improve. While it is tough to meet perfection in this field, our heart and mission has always been to help those in need, and to accept them from wherever they are at in life.

We stand by our policies and procedures because they have been developed through front-line experience and have been proven to work. We understand that not everyone will agree with them, however they are in place to help bring structure and accountability to those seeking our assistance. Daily, we challenge ourselves to reflect on our various approaches, and when required are willing to making changes as needed. In a field that is always changing, we remain flexible to change and improvement.

Our mission is to help those who seek our community to make a lasting change in their lives. There are times when we must remove someone from our staff, volunteers, programs, or community in order to help the greater community advance. These decisions are not easy, nor can they be a carbon-copy approach from one situation to the next, but we remain focused on being a positive social service within the communities we serve.

As a not for profit charity, our goal is to provide the best services possible with the funds that we have. In some cases that involves utilizing government programs funds that become available to our guests that helps us recover a portion of the costs to house and feed our guests.

Those within Addiction Recovery can enter the program without paying, however in many cases a portion of the government funds they obtain are utilized to help subsidize their food and housing costs. These funds actually only recover a small percentage of the actual cost to operate the program on a monthly basis.

Anyone who enters into our Step-Up program does pay a damage deposit/program fee. This allows for a room rental and access to all of the HHA services including their meals. There were times in the past where small fees were charged for various services, but were discontinued, as we became financially able to offer at no cost.

Harvest House Atlantic is a registered charity which can accept monetary donations by traditional means, and provide tax receipts.

• Cash
• Cheque
• Online through Canada Helps
• By E-transfer to harvesthouse@hhatlantic.org
• By Debit / Credit Card

By way of reviews and audits, Harvest House Atlantic works with Canada Revenue Agency each year to ensure it is conforming to all laws regulating charitable organizations. Our Board also ensures that our financials are audited annually by AC Stevenson and Partners to ensure proper accounting practices are being adhered to, as we look for even better ways to manage our limited financial resources.