About Start Me Up Niagara

Start Me Up Niagara offers services and programs to individuals who face significant life challenges to provide them with opportunities to stabilize, participate and grow.

Start Me Up Niagara Working Together Moving Forward AGM

Working Together, Moving Forward

Start Me Up Niagara works with individuals facing significant life challenges such as poverty, unemployment, food insecurity, substance misuse, compromised mental health and are experiencing homelessness. We provide opportunities to improve health, increase community integration and support employment.

Our goal is to provide opportunities for these individuals to help them increase their level of self-sufficiency and improve their quality of life.

Our services range from access to healthy food options, health care, crisis clothing and community lunches; a fully functional bike shop, art activities, gardening program and employment services. Together, we are working to build a community where all are included.

Start Me Up Niagara is a not-for-profit organization and registered charity. Charity Registration Number: 896011715RR0001

Learn More About Us

Our History       Our Staff         Board of Directors         Funders & Donors         Jobs

Our Mission

Start Me Up Niagara exists to improve the quality of life for persons facing challenges of poverty: this includes food insecurity, substance misuse, compromised mental health, unemployment and housing insecurity.

Our Values

  • Participant-focused
  • Holistic
  • Inclusive
  • Low barrier
  • Partnership-focused

Our Vision

A community where all persons are supported, cared for, and treated with dignity and respect.

Start Me Up Niagara operates on the following themes to meet our mission of improving the quality of life for persons facing challenges of poverty.

Theme: Alignment

We will ensure that all programs and services further our Mission and Values.

Goals:

  • Develop a food security strategy.
  • Clarify the purpose of the Resource Centre.
  • Create an environment that balances inclusivity and safety for participants, volunteers and staff.

Theme: Resilience

We will reduce the agency’s dependence on insecure grant funding.

Goals:

  • Work collaboratively with agencies and organizations to address the Queenston community's concern of being a food desert by exploring and supporting creative social enterprise solutions.
  • Maximize provincial incentive funding tied to employment placements supporting individuals facing multiple barriers to employment.
  • Establish an endowment fund to provide an income stream to support programs.
  • Develop long-term, sustainable, fundraising strategies.

Theme: Impact

Our programs and services will be thoughtfully focused and evidence based to make a meaningful difference in the lives of those we support.

Goals:

  • Focus food program on specific demographics, such as families, seniors and households experiencing financial insecurity.
  • Expand the reach of Niagara’s Mobile Closet
  • Add mission-aligned partnerships to expand our range of our services.
  • Develop a communications strategy to raise the profile and awareness of Start Me Up Niagara

YPI Student? Start Here.

Working on your YPI project? We’ve put together a FAQ document with answers to the questions we’re most commonly asked. It’s a great place to begin your research!

Access the File

Start Me Up Niagara currently resides on the traditional home to many First Nations, Metis and Inuit Peoples. The land is the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe peoples, many of whom continue to live and work here today. This land acknowledgement is important: it reminds us that our great standard of living is directly related to the resources and friendship of Indigenous people in our community – and indeed across the nations.

  • I was able to provide a client with warm clothes when they were being discharged to an emergency shelter during the cold winter months. This client presented at the ED with very little belongings and the mini closet ensured that they were able to be properly clothed when they left. They expressed immense gratitude for this program.
    Anonymous
  • The compassion and dedication from this team and program is OUTSTANDING! It has made a difference in so many lives already and continues to grow! I love having somewhere to make donations where I know those in need are not being charged and are being supported, unconditionally! THANK YOU!!
    Anonymous

Support Our Work

Your donations go directly to frontline service and supports for our participants who experience homelessness and other mental health and addictions issues.

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