St. Matthew's House

St. Matthew's House St. Matt's is a charitable, non-profit multi-service agency. We serve families, children and seniors (55+)

Matt's is a charitable, non-profit multi-service agency located in the inner-city of Hamilton. We have been providing services to the most vulnerable in our community since the mid-sixties. Our core services focus on Emergency Food Assistance, Child Services and Seniors' Care. Matthew's House provides these services to those in need regardless of their race, gender or religious beliefs.

At St. Matt’s, we often talk about creating spaces where people feel safe, supported, and valued. This year, we found ou...
08/06/2026

At St. Matt’s, we often talk about creating spaces where people feel safe, supported, and valued. This year, we found ourselves returning
to a deeper question: what does it truly mean to belong?

Our answer is both simple and profound: belonging begins when people are free to show up as themselves. Fully. Honestly. Without fear of judgment or exclusion. This year’s theme, True Colours, reflects that commitment. It speaks to who we are as an organization — grounded in faith, guided by compassion, and unwavering in our belief that every person has inherent worth. It also reflects the community we are proud to be part of - diverse, resilient, and beautifully complex.

Across our programs, we see every day what happens when people are met with dignity. A senior avoids eviction and stays rooted in their community. A child is nurtured in a space where their identity is celebrated. A person experiencing homelessness finds not just a meal, but connection, recognition, and care. A refugee is able to live into their identity as a member of the LGBTQI+ community.

This work is not abstract. It is deeply human. And it is made possible by a community of Board and Committee members, staff, volunteers, partners, funders and supporters who continue to show up — bringing their own true colours with them.

To all of you, thank you. You are part of something that is changing lives in real and lasting ways. And together, we are building a community where everyone has the opportunity not just to be supported—but to thrive.

Belonging is not a program. It’s a practice.

-Renée Wetselaar, Executive Director
Melanee McAulay, Chair of the Board

At St. Matt’s child care centres, meals and snacks are part of the daily rhythm, planned, nutritious, and consistent. Fo...
08/03/2026

At St. Matt’s child care centres, meals and snacks are part of the daily rhythm, planned, nutritious, and consistent. For families navigating tight budgets, that reliability matters. Food here is not emergency support. It is part of a stable environment where children can grow, learn, and thrive.

Read more about how St. Matt's is dealing with hunger and poverty in Hamilton, shifting to an integrated system that supports dignity at every stage of life, in Hamilton City Magazine:
https://hamiltoncitymagazine.ca/st-matthews-house-from-charity-to-justice/

Nourishment: Meeting essential needs with care.• 29,450 lunches in full-day child care centres• 187,980 lunches and snac...
07/30/2026

Nourishment: Meeting essential needs with care.

• 29,450 lunches in full-day child care centres
• 187,980 lunches and snacks served in child care and before & after school programs
• 4,072 grocery boxes delivered to seniors
• Cathedral Café served 63,960 meals in a year, with 205 meals and 518 cups of coffee daily
• 544 seniors had a visit from Mobile Markets, an accessible pop-up grocery store

“A meal can be the first step back to feeling human again.”

https://stmatthewshouse.ca/2025-annual-report/

07/29/2026

We aren't a large organization but we believe in the impact we can make every day - we all rise by lifting others.

https://stmatthewshouse.ca/

You can drop off food donations at 705 Main Street East (Entrance off St. Claire Ave at the Ramp Door/Blue Wall). Thank ...
07/27/2026

You can drop off food donations at 705 Main Street East (Entrance off St. Claire Ave at the Ramp Door/Blue Wall). Thank you so much for your support!

See the list of most needed food donation items:
stmatthewshouse.ca/help-us/donate-food

📸 Tim McKenna

"When I attended what is now Toronto Metropolitan University 45-plus years ago, for consumer and family studies, women h...
07/23/2026

"When I attended what is now Toronto Metropolitan University 45-plus years ago, for consumer and family studies, women had long discussed the need for extended child-care hours to accommodate shift workers and single parents.

Today, we could add gig workers to that list. At that time discussions on overnight child care to accommodate nurses, emergency medical service workers and women working night shifts were extremely controversial.

The body of evidence proves standard child-care models fail to adequately meet the needs of families who work irregular or non-standard hours — particularly those from equity-deserving communities.

When my eldest child was eight months old, I was able to enrol them in the child-care centre in the high school where I taught. I paid $1,600 per month for that infant spot.

Once my child moved into the toddler room the fee dropped to $1,200 per month.

By the time I had three children, it became impossible to justify spending my entire paycheque to cover child-care fees: my seven-month-old was in the Burnhamthorpe Collegiate child-care centre, my two-year-old in a local private child-care centre and my four-year-old in before- and after-school care at a local Montessori school.

That’s why I have been fighting for affordable child care for more than 30 years.

St. Matthew’s House recently commissioned the report “Care Beyond the Standard Day: Community Needs and Opportunities for Extended Hours Child Care,” by Mela Swayze, Shiva Mazouei and Celeste Licorish.

The report examined the Barton community’s need for extended evening and weekend child care. There was interest from both staff and parents.

Premier Doug Ford really does not want to see an effective $10-a-day child-care plan rolled out, let alone extended hours. He made that clear by allowing private child-care operators to opt out of the $10 plan and by decreeing value-for-money audits be conducted by municipal providers in 2024.

Those audits were funded by diverting money from the federal $10-a-day program or regular provincial administrative funding, thereby cutting into day-to-day operating budgets.

The value-for-money audit was to determine if the province should privatize these programs. That not only undermines efforts to improve pay for early-childhood educators (ECEs) and supervisors, but diminishes funds reaching kids because profits have to be made when centres are privatized.

It’s important to centre the needs of child-care workers in every child-care plan because this female-dominated workforce is too often overlooked and left out of discussions that impact their lives. These women play a vital role in the early development of the children in their care and those experiences form the foundation for everything that comes after.

That’s why it’s important to discuss unionization. ECEs are a vital part of the care economy and deserve livable wages and benefits along with safe and equitable working conditions.

While we fight Ford’s dismantling of municipal and non-profit child care, there must be conversations to explore extended hours and what compensation for workers would look like.

School boards need to remember that because they are in a financial vice being squeezed by the Ministry of Education, they cannot simply recoup their losses from child-care providers.

St. Matt’s executive director Renee Wetselaar and manager of children’s services Taniesha Gerrish successfully challenged Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board trustees’ decision to impose an 80 per cent rent increase while making child-care service providers pay facility rentals 365 days a year despite only occupying space 260 days per year.

Adding just five per cent to the school board’s annual budget impacts child-care providers and families immeasurably. This includes the introduction of extended hours.

While you may not have children or grandchildren in child care, these are the next generation of nurses, doctors, engineers and artists who will be running the world during your retirement years.

The reality is great early child-care benefits every one of us.

It’s something to think about during a municipal and school board trustee election year, because representation matters."

-via The Hamilton Spectator, by Doreen Nicoll

Read Sylvia's story if you want to understand just how big of an impact Cathedral Café is making in Hamilton. If you're ...
07/22/2026

Read Sylvia's story if you want to understand just how big of an impact Cathedral Café is making in Hamilton.

If you're worried things aren't changing quickly enough, help us! https://stmatthewshouse.ca/help-us/

07/20/2026

At our annual Walk in May, our first stop was next door to St. Matt's, to hear about 412 Barton.

The 412 Barton is designed to empower seniors in meeting their needs. The affordability of the units, alongside crisis and eviction prevention supports we have designed, will ensure a building program that both engages seniors and allows residents autonomy and opportunities for self-development.

Find out more about 412 Barton: https://stmatthewshouse.ca/412-barton/

Looking to make a difference in the community? Volunteer at Cathedral Café where we offer a daily drop-in program, Monda...
07/17/2026

Looking to make a difference in the community? Volunteer at Cathedral Café where we offer a daily drop-in program, Monday to Saturday, from 9-4.

Volunteers are needed to fill the following shifts.
Monday to Saturday:
9:00am to 11:30am
11:30am to 2:00pm
2:00pm to 4:00pm

Volunteer positions include:
Greeter
Refreshments
Kitchen Support

Visit this link to complete the registration and application: https://app.betterimpact.com/Application?OrganizationGuid=a05c7367-60c5-4531-b5fd-118e83e10ac5&ApplicationFormNumber=1

Once your application is approved, you will be scheduled for an orientation session at the Cathedral Café. Volunteers are vital to continuing these important services in our community, and we appreciate your consideration. 💙

"For people who have gone so long without the safety and stability of a home, this building represents so much more than...
07/15/2026

"For people who have gone so long without the safety and stability of a home, this building represents so much more than four walls — it represents peace, dignity, belonging, and the chance to begin again. There is a quiet joy that comes from having a space of your own, and you can see the difference it makes in residents every single day.

Programs and connections are emerging naturally because people finally feel safe enough to participate, contribute, and belong. 412 Barton is becoming far more than housing — it is becoming a vibrant gathering place filled with hope, humanity, and possibility.”
— Mo Taffa, Tenant Support Worker, 412 Barton

Address

414 Barton Street E
Hamilton, ON
L8L2Y3

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Friday 8:30am - 4:30pm

Telephone

(905) 523-5546

Website

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