Mission & Values
Our Mission
Welcome Inn is a dynamic community centre that dares to imagine that there is a different and more vibrant path forward for ALL members of our community.
Together with the community, Welcome Inn works to alleviate poverty, loneliness and marginalization—challenges that our community members face on a daily basis—by offering supportive relationships, promoting wellness and providing capacity-building opportunities.
Our four program areas include: Children's Programs, Senior's Programs, Food Access Initiatives and Community Programs.
Did you know?
Even though the North End of Hamilton is changing and gentrification is a reality, our community still faces high rates of poverty and is home to many people living life on the margins.
Our Values
We welcome and accept all people as they are.
We are all unique and worthy human beings. At Welcome Inn, all people are accepted unconditionally and celebrated regardless of religion, ethnicity, colour, ability, sexual orientation, gender identity, and socioeconomic status.
We practice kindness and respect for everyone.
We recognize that we do not all hold the same values or perspectives. Out of respect for one another, we offer service and care to each other without judgement.
We all have something of value to share and receive.
All of our lives, we are all in need and we all have something to give. We call forth the good in all people and strive to be a place where everyone can give and receive equally.
We are all part of building a healthy community.
We value our relationships with one another and strive to connect people and inspire community. We support one another in times of joy and in times of struggle and challenge. We strive to reduce barriers between us by reconciling one to another. We value dealing with conflict in healthy and open ways. We commit to being a safe, healing, and welcoming place for everyone.
We work together for peace and justice.
We value collaboration and working in partnership together with one another and other organizations, community and faith groups toward a goal of alleviating poverty while remaining true to who we are. We promote a peaceful, just and fair society for all people. This includes access to basic needs, freedom from discrimination, a safe and clean environment, and a sustainable livelihood.
We are responsible to ourselves and to each other.
As a community, we hold one another accountable for our actions, choices, and responsibilities.
Our Wellness Areas
For us, it's not about creating another community program; it's about empowering members of the Hamilton community so that All might Live Well Together.
Welcome Inn promotes wellness in eight key areas:
Social: Supported, connected, engaged
Intellectual: Creative, articulate, skilled
Physical: Healthy, safe, well-fed
Emotional: Self-aware, reflective, grounded
Occupational: Purpose-driven, fulfilled, self-directed
Environmental: Attentive, active, safe
Financial: Stable, interdependent, housed
Spiritual: Peaceful, mindful, compassionate
Our History
Since 1966, the poverty of loneliness and exclusion has been overcome with friendship and compassion at Welcome Inn Community Centre, where people from all walks of life work together to alleviate poverty in the North End and across Hamilton. Each person at Welcome Inn is accepted and welcomed as they are.
1966Herman Enns from Hamilton Mennonite Church had a vision to alleviate poverty in the North End of Hamilton. With the help of Mennonite Voluntary Service Workers who served as staff, Welcome Inn Community Centre began.
1971Urban Renewal in the North End forced a move to a new location and in 1983 another move to 40 Wood Street East, a former Baptist Church where after many renovations and changes, Welcome Inn still operates.
1981An evening Bible study group that had been meeting for years had their first Sunday morning worship service with Sunday School for kids. This marked the beginnings of Welcome Inn Church which operated until 2009.
1989The Seniors program was established to provide a weekly social time, visit and meal to local seniors on Tuesday. This program continues today. The next 10 years was a time of active growth in the organization.
2000With the Mennonite Voluntary Service Workers serving as staff for 2 years at a time until the program closed in 2003, several community programs started, including the LAF Afterschool Program, the food pantry (which would grow into a food bank) and several youth programs.
2008Welcome Inn took ownership of New Horizons Thrift Store on James St North. The store offers an alternative shopping experience that is accessible, affordable and environmentally responsible and raises funds for Welcome Inn programs.
2016Welcome Inn Community Centre celebrates over 50 years of building community and supporting children, families and seniors in the City of Hamilton's north end.
