Vital Signs: Expanding essential services

When we think of essential services, there are a few basics that come to mind — food, shelter, clean water, warmth. However, there are others that may not be as readily apparent, but which provide dignity and safety to folks who are facing challenges.

On this episode of Vital Signs, Rudi Wallace hosts Nancy Seto (Founder, Free Laundry Access) and Courtney Waterfall (Chapter Director, Shelter Movers Southwestern Ontario) to talk about their respective organizations and how they empower people with access to free laundry and moving services — programs that have now expanded into Hamilton.

Key quotes

“It’s really been a busy time expanding to Hamilton. The service is very much needed here.” Courtney Waterfall on Shelter Movers expansion into Hamilton

“When we first considered moving into other regions, we based it on statistics. Fortunately, King Coin Laundromat [in Hamilton] reached out to us about doing something similar in the community. Everything aligned.” Nancy Seto on expansion of Free Laundry Access into Hamilton

“Our clients are the main decision makers on the day of the move…we go in with police or security to make sure everyone is safe. We know that when women make the decision to leave, rates of violence and femicide increase drastically.” Courtney Waterfall on safety of clients

“We think it’s important for people to have clean clothes…it doesn’t just give them their dignity back — it gives them happiness and hope.” Nancy Seto

“We see a lot of seniors, 2SLGBTQIA+ folks, people who have experienced human trafficking. Really, it’s all genders, all ages, all income levels.” Courtney Waterfall on the diverse range of clients that access Shelter Movers’ services

“Sunlight reached out to us to do a commercial about what we were doing…[then] they said they wanted to become our title sponsor… we formed a partnership and were able to expand to four different communities across Canada.” Nancy Seto on partnership with Sunlight