Ottawa homeless shelter receives $750,000 in donations after harassment from convoy protesters
Donations to an Ottawa homeless shelter have reached about three quarters of a million dollars after protesters from the ‘Freedom Convoy’ harassed staff and volunteers and demanded food from their soup kitchen.
More than 13,000 people have donated about $750,000 to the Shepherds of Good Hope since Jan. 30, the head of the shelter announced Thursday.
“What began with people wanting to make up for a few meals has now gone far beyond that,” president and CEO Deirdre Freiheit said in a video posted online.
“Thanks to this incredible unanticipated support, we can accelerate our efforts to end homelessness in our city by building more housing.”
The incident happened on Jan. 29, the first Saturday of the ‘Freedom Convoy’ protests in downtown Ottawa, according to Shepherds. They wrote on Twitter that staff and volunteers experienced harassment from convoy protesters seeking meals from the soup kitchen.
“The individuals were given meals to diffuse the conflict. Management was then informed of the issue and no further meals were given to protesters,” they said.
Freiheit also said one of the shelter’s clients was assaulted.
The incident sparked an outpouring of support for the shelter. They received more than 10,000 donations within a day or so, and said their fundraising teams would need some time to calculate the total raised.
The bulk of the funds will be put toward two supportive housing residences that Shepherds of Good Hope is building, which will house a combined 105 people.
One is at 1095 Merivale Road, and the other is at 216 Murray Street.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
'Tactical evacuations' underway near Fort Nelson, B.C., as wildfires encroach
The BC Wildfire Service says 'tactical evacuations' began Friday near Fort Nelson, B.C., due to an out-of-control wildfire that has grown rapidly since it was discovered earlier in the afternoon.
Snowbirds in Vancouver for puck-drop flyby as Canucks face Oilers
The Canadian Forces Snowbirds will be performing a flyover across downtown Vancouver at the start of tonight's Stanley Cup playoff game between the Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.