House of Friendship

What House of Friendship does

House of Friendship is a registered Canadian charitable organization (CRA #10749-3892-RR0001) founded in 1939 in Kitchener, Ontario, that delivers integrated social services across Waterloo Region. It serves more than 42,000 individuals annually through four primary program verticals: addiction treatment (including RAAM walk-in clinics and community counselling), housing and emergency shelter (ShelterCare, supportive housing at Charles Village and Eby Village, and the upcoming Friendship Village), food assistance (emergency hampers, Christmas food program), and neighbourhood/family supports (community centres, digital skills training, newcomer programs). The organization is best known for its ShelterCare model, a 100-bed facility launched in 2023 that combines 24/7 emergency shelter with on-site primary care, mental health, and addiction services, achieving documented outcomes including a 50% reduction in overdoses and 25% housing transition success.

The core operational technology is the ShelterCare integrated health-shelter model and the RAAM (Rapid Access Addiction Medicine) clinic model, both of which co-locate clinical, counselling, and peer support staff. HART Hub Waterloo Region provides coordinated street outreach across the region. The organization operates 11+ physical locations across Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge.

House of Friendship is funded through a mix of government grants (Ontario Ministry of Health, Region of Waterloo, CMHC), individual donations, corporate sponsorships, and fundraising events (Friendship Golf Tournament, Strawberry Social, Friendship Dinner, planned giving). Services are provided free of charge to participants. The organization reports 12 consecutive years of balanced budgets and is governed by a board of directors under executive leadership comprising eight director-level positions. Continuing expansion includes Friendship Village (170 units, 2026), HART Hub Transitional Housing (12 beds, 2026), and ongoing programmatic growth under the 2023-onwards Roadmap to Wellness funding envelope.

Name

House of Friendship

Legal name

House of Friendship

Website

https://houseoffriendship.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1939

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

House of Friendship is a Waterloo Region nonprofit founded in 1939 that delivers integrated food, housing, addiction treatment, and neighbourhood services to 42,000+ individuals annually, anchored by its ShelterCare shelter-and-healthcare model and RAAM walk-in addiction clinics.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Services - Homelessness, Addiction, and Food Security

NAICS

Temporary Shelters (624221), Other Residential Care Facilities (623990), Community Housing Services (62422), Residential Intellectual and Developmental Disability, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Facilities (6232)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Centers & Neighborhood Support Services (BPAGAEAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts) (BPAGALAC)

Keywords

• Homeless shelter services
• Addiction treatment clinics
• Community food programs
• Supportive housing services
• Nonprofit social services

Headquarters

HQ city

Kitchener

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices10 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: Individual and corporate donations through direct mail, online giving, event fundraising (Friendship Golf Tournament, Strawberry Social, Friendship Dinner), and planned giving/bequests. Community fundraising by supporters.
2. Government Funding: Provincial funding from Ontario Ministry of Health ($8.5M capital for ShelterCare, $1.6M for mental health/addictions supports) and Region of Waterloo ($3.7M annual operating support including $570K capital financing).
3. Charitable Programs: Programs funded through charitable foundations, community partnerships, and special event proceeds supporting food, housing, addiction treatment, and neighbourhood services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

House of Friendship is a Waterloo Region nonprofit that delivers free social services to individuals and families, including emergency shelter with on-site healthcare (ShelterCare), walk-in addiction medicine (RAAM Clinics), community counselling and live-in addiction treatment, supportive and affordable housing (Friendship Village, Charles Village, Eby Village, HART Hub Transitional Housing), emergency food hampers, and neighbourhood community centre programming for families on low income.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ShelterCare: An innovative shelter model that integrates healthcare and shelter services, providing 24/7 care for individuals experiencing homelessness with on-site medical, mental health, and addiction supports.
• RAAM Clinic
• Friendship Village

Products and services

• ShelterCare
• Rapid Access Addiction Medicine (RAAM) Clinic
• Friendship Village

Quantifiable outcome

• 42,000+ individuals helped annually
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Waterloo Region Nurse Practitioner Led Clinic (WRNPLC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWRNPLC provides both in-person and virtual Nurse Practitioner support to all Waterloo Region RAAM clinics as the primary healthcare partner. The clinic focuses on health promotion, disease prevention, chronic disease management, and care coordination through a multidisciplinary team. Hosts RAAM clinics three days per week at their Cambridge site.
• Waterloo Regional Health Network (WRHN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWRHN operates regional withdrawal management services and hospital campuses in Kitchener-Waterloo area. Partners with RAAM clinics to provide outpatient mental health services and crisis support. Withdrawal Management program offers non-medical management of withdrawal symptoms with 24-hour monitoring.
• Sanguen Health ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSanguen Health Services is a community-based health organization providing wraparound support to marginalized populations affected by substance use, mental health, and homelessness. Hosts a RAAM clinic at their Consumption and Treatment Services (CTS) site on Thursdays. Offers mobile health van, vaccinations, naloxone training, peer support, and hepatitis testing.
• Pharmacy on KingsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocated at 702 King Street West in Kitchener, Pharmacy on King provides medication dispensing, injections, and pharmacological care coordination for RAAM clinic participants. Focuses on individualized support for individuals accessing care at Kitchener clinic locations.
• Focus for Ethnic WomensupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Focus for Ethnic Women to deliver the Digital Skills for Employment program at Sunnydale Community Centre, supporting immigrant women with practical technology skills for employment.
• City of WaterloosupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvided support and guidance during ShelterCare facility development and building process. Aided in building connections with neighbouring community.
• Inner City Health AlliancesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition of health and social support agencies providing funding and support for the ShelterCare pilot program during COVID-19 pandemic. Part of coordinated system addressing homelessness in Waterloo Region.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Fred Victor: Toronto-based multi-service nonprofit delivering shelter, supportive housing, and drop-in services to people experiencing homelessness, poverty, and mental-health challenges — directly comparable to House of Friendship's integrated model across housing, food, and community supports.
• Lookout Housing and Health Society: British Columbia nonprofit operating emergency shelter, supportive housing, and integrated health services for people experiencing homelessness and substance use — directly analogous to House of Friendship's ShelterCare health-shelter hybrid model.
• Old Brewery Mission: Montreal-based nonprofit delivering emergency shelter, transitional housing, and support services for people experiencing homelessness — comparable on the integrated shelter + housing + addiction offerings in another Canadian city.
• Mission Services of Hamilton: Hamilton, Ontario-based community nonprofit operating emergency shelter, transitional housing, food programs, and addiction/mental-health supports — the closest geographic and programmatic analogue to House of Friendship's wraparound model in another Ontario city.
• Inn from the Cold: Calgary family-focused homeless-serving agency running shelter, housing, and prevention programs — closely comparable to House of Friendship's family-shelter and food-hamper services in the Waterloo Region.
• The Mustard Seed: Calgary-based Christian nonprofit running emergency shelters, supportive housing, recovery programs, and food services — a near one-to-one match to House of Friendship's shelter + housing + addiction + food program stack.

Broad incumbents

• Canadian Mental Health Association (Ontario): Ontario-wide nonprofit operating mental-health and addiction service hubs, supportive housing, and case management — comparable on the mental-health/addiction and supportive-housing axes, though broader geographically and less shelter-focused.
• The Salvation Army (Ontario): National multi-service charitable organization running shelters, addiction recovery (Harbor Light), housing, and community supports across Ontario — operates a substantially overlapping portfolio at far greater scale than House of Friendship.

Emerging players

• Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services: Ontario nonprofit providing affordable and supportive housing for Indigenous people, with wraparound cultural and health supports — comparable on the supportive-housing-plus-wrapservices model with a defined population focus.

Others

• Streets to Homes (City of Toronto) / Toronto Shelter Network: Coordinated network and outreach infrastructure for Toronto's shelter and homelessness services — thematically comparable as a regional coordination layer for the same client base House of Friendship serves via HART Hub WR.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hofwatreg
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCjv3hO17Rktk98OVDXVYr-g
• Facebookfacebook.com/houseoffriendshipwr
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/houseoffriendshipwr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about House of Friendship