Souls Harbour Rescue Mission expands to Amherst, N.S.

The Souls Harbour Mission opened its sixth location in Nova Scotia on Tuesday.

Marked with round tables, a tasty spread and good conversation, Souls Harbour Rescue Mission has officially expanded into the Town of Amherst.

The organization, alongside it’s new partners at Amherst Wesleyan Church, held a grand-opening on Tuesday to mark the start of what those involved hope will be a meaningful relationship moving forward.

“The need across the province right now, we’re seeing a lot of small communities that are struggling and we often have the opportunity, like we have here, for people to reach out to us and say ‘hey listen, we have a space, can you come and be a service provider’ and that’s basically what’s happening here,” said Cherry Laxton, chief operating officer.

“The smaller communities, obviously, for us is something that’s fairly new, but again, just because the need seems to be cropping up all over the province. I really see that that’s likely going to be a driver for the next few locations.”

Amherst marks the sixth location for the Mission which spreads across the province into Cape Breton, Halifax and now Amherst, which borders New Brunswick.

Evan Oxner, Amherst Wesleyan Church’s lead pastor, says he reached out to Souls Harbour Rescue Mission after learning about what they do and seeing the need in his own backyard.

“They’re not just putting a Band-Aid on situations, they’re actually meeting needs and creating solutions and as things are getting more expensive and after COVID with the community taking such a hit, we really needed something like that here,” said Oxner.

“I keep hearing the food bank is getting overwhelmed and we get calls ‘Hey can you help us with fuel? Can you help us with groceries? Can you help us?’ and it’s just the need has been growing and growing and a lot of the tools that we’ve used in the past are not sufficient, haven’t been sufficient to meet the needs, it’s just such a growing need.”

The drop-in centre will offer a free meal to anyone in the community Monday to Friday from noon until 2 p.m.

The idea is to not only fill bellies, but also provide a place for people to come together and find community.

“The reality is, food insecurity is one of the things that we serve as a basic need here, but also I would say that just loneliness is an epidemic right now and this type of service provides the opportunity for people to get together, to connect, build relationships and to just become apart of a greater community,” said Laxton.

Those involved say the centre saw at least 40 people come through on Tuesday for the launch.

“I am pretty optimistic about how many people are going to be affected by this. I can see a lot of seniors just being able to build some community and build some connections. I can see a lot of people being fed. I think it’s going to be pretty massive,” said Oxner.

He says, post pandemic, not everyone knows how to connect, where to connect or can afford to connect at places like restaurants or other establishments in town.

“Now, every day, Monday to Friday there’s some place you can come, get something to eat and connect and whether you’re in need or not,” he said.

Down the road, Laxton says the plan is to expand even further to offer basic necessities and hygiene products similar to the other five Souls Harbour Rescue Mission Locations.

Amherst Mayor Rob Small says it’s a welcomed partnership in the town and one he suspects will serve a greater purpose.

“I’m going to say that, right across Nova Scotia, the need has increased significantly, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to get a whole lot better in short order. So yeah, the need is there for sure and I think with organizations like Souls Harbour, that’s what’s going to make a difference for our community,” said Small.

“I think the thing about the particular location is it’s a partnership that they’ve established and I was asking about what the commitment is to the town and they are a Monday through Friday every week that they’re going to be here to support the needs of our community. That to me is huge.”

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