The Truro Homeless Outreach Society is an incorporated non-profit charity operating within the Town of Truro Nova Scotia.
The Truro Homeless Outreach Society (THOS) grew out of the Out of the Cold program in Truro. Beginning in 2010 Out of the Cold operated out of local churches for 4 winters. The program was entirely volunteer-driven and ran from November 1 to March 31 each year. Out of the Cold provided an evening meal overnight shelter (on cots or mats) breakfast and when available a bagged lunch. The doors to Out of the Cold opened at 8:00 pm and closed at 7:00 am.
In the winter of 2014 a small day time drop-in centre opened to provide Out of the Cold guests with a warm place to spend their days when required.
It became apparent to the Out of the Cold Coordinating Committee that although we were providing shelter during the coldest part of the year our guests were literally turned out on April 1 to go back to a life living in parks and abandoned buildings until the program opened again the next November. Also guests who seemed to make some improvement in their lives during the winter often suffered significant setbacks when they lost the support of the volunteers.
In January 2014 a committee formed and created the Truro Homeless Outreach Society to begin planning for development of a facility that would include a year round emergency shelter with shower and laundry facilities and office space for future staff as well as a gathering place for workshops on topics chosen by the guests themselves.
Hub House is the result. We will have fifteen emergency shelter beds for men and women sixteen years of age and older and space for families who find themselves homeless.
The Truro Homeless Outreach Society believes in a "whole person" approach to serving our guests and works in partnership with many other agencies both in the town and across the province to ensure that our guests have access to the services they need to achieve personal success.