This subseries pertains to social service ministries and missions in which the Sisters were involved. Records from social service ministries relate to Josephs’ House, the Detox Centre, My Sister’s Place, St. Joseph’s Hospitality Centre, Elizabeth Place, St. Stephen’s House, and the Southdown Project.
Many of these social service ministries took place in London, Ontario. Josephs’ House offered temporary housing and support for newly arrived refugees in three separate buildings on Dundas Street from September 4, 1987 to 2004. In 2004, the Sisters transferred the properties at 707, 709, and 711 Dundas Street to the Cross Cultural Learning Centre (CCLC).
The building at 534 Queens Avenue had different transitions in ministry. Throughout its existence, it served as housing and support for disturbed children, housing for at risk teens, a shelter for women who had been in the psychiatric system, and housing and support for homeless women. This location was also the site of Streetscape in 1999, which offered Crash Beds to those in need. Additionally, this location served as a withdrawal management centre, a music school, and a location for women who wanted an experience of intentional Christian community living. When 534 Queens Avenue closed in 2004, My Sister’s Place continued to provide support and transitional housing for women with addictions and mental health issues in order to make a difference in the lives of women who were experiencing poverty. A bursary, The Queens Avenue Legacy Fund, was birthed from the sale of the property to assist women in financial need who wished to pursue education at Brescia and Fanshawe Colleges and other institutions with a view to employment.
St. Joseph’s Hospital Detoxification Clinic opened on September 13, 1973, and was located next to 534 Queens Avenue until 2005. St. Stephen’s House which operated from February 1, 1982 to 2007 was started by Sister St. Patrick Joyce who also administered the Detox Clinic. It served as a half-way recovery home with intake admissions through referrals from the Detox Clinic.
St. Joseph’s Hospitality Centre, informally known as the “Soup Kitchen” was started by Sister Mary Jean Klatt on February 2, 1983 at 746 Dundas Street. It shifted to a restaurant style kitchen in 2002 to ensure the dignity of its clients and continued to serve affordable meals which cost $0.50 to $1.00. In 2004, the Sisters continued to rent the space from the Cross Cultural Learning Centre. There was an electrical fire at the facility in February of 2005 and the congregation began a discernment process to decide how involved the Sisters would be in the operation of the facility. It continues to operate but moved to 602 Queens Avenue in 2022 and was renamed St. Joe’s Café.
The Sisters also had social service ministries outside of Ontario. Elizabeth Place at 11458 95 Street in Edmonton, Alberta was purchased in 1987 and delivered programs from 1989 to 2008. It was a ministry for women on limited incomes, women offenders, and women with mental health issues who had difficulty procuring both short- and long-term housing. Elizabeth Place was also known as the Elizabeth Fry Society or Edmonton Inner City Housing.
The Sisters’ involvement with the Southdown Project included financial support through donations. Volunteer staff from the Southdown Institute would visit Igloolik, Nunavut, three to four times a year to provide counseling and psychological/psychiatric services.
Also included in this subseries are records relating to the Holy Rosary House in Windsor, Goderich convent, and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Alberta. Holy Rosary convent at 3975 Riverside Drive East in Windsor, Ontario, was a Tudor revival style house built in 1915-1916 for Frank Henderson Joyce. It was used as a convent for the Sisters beginning in 1953. The Windsor City Council passed a by-law in 2007 which designated the property a heritage site, which affected the sale of the property in 2007. The Goderich convent was established after Father B. Boubat, Pastor of St. Peter’s Parish in Goderich, requested in 1873 that the Sisters of St. Joseph educate the children of his parish. In addition to other volunteer activities, the Sisters acted as teachers in the area until 1992. The last Sisters living in Goderich moved to the motherhouse in London in 2007. At the request of Archbishop H. J. O’Leary of Edmonton, the Sisters of St. Joseph in London established a foundation in Edmonton in 1922. In 1927, it was incorporated as the Sisters of St. Joseph of Alberta, and for a time, there was a question as to whether the community was independent or the responsibility of the London congregation. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Alberta was also known as the Alberta Corporation, and included missions in Alberta, British Columbia, and the Territories. In the early 2000s, due to the declining numbers and increased age of the Sisters, it was decided to “dissolve” the corporation. The material related to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Alberta in this subseries is primarily concerned with the dissolution of the corporation.
Included in this subseries are photographs, correspondence, timelines and schedules, prayers, inventory lists, legal documents (indenture documents), meeting minutes (Cross Cultural Learning Centre, Queens Avenue Legacy Fund meeting), executive summaries, budget reports, lists of staff, human resource documents (severance letter template), reports on the closures and openings of ministries, newspaper and magazine clippings, Sisters of St. Joseph bursary correspondence concerning women’s access to higher education, Brescia College, and Fanshawe College, newsletters, invoices, histories, and property appraisals all relating to the Sisters’ various ministries and missions. There is a CD-ROM containing material from the Cross-Cultural Learning Centre signing on October 1, 2004. There are also newsletters and reports regarding the operation of St. Joseph’s Hospitality Centre and its discernment process.
