Spady Spirit Alive and Well

Imagine a young boy wanting donations for the homeless instead of gifts for his 6th birthday!…

But that’s what happened when young Mason Spady learned about his great grandfather’s commitment to the Edmonton homeless community. Recently, Mason showed Detox staff that the generous spirit of George Spady is alive and well in his family as it is in our agency. George Spady’s kindness and concern for the homeless underlies our services and our philosophy of accepting individuals where they are at.

On a Saturday in early March the Spady family stopped in at Detox to drop off several bags of donations that Mason organized in lieu of birthday gifts. Laurence Braun-Woodbury, Senior Manager of Emergency Programs, gave the family a tour of the whole facility. His impression? “The whole family was extremely kind, and little Mason was a prince.” The photo shows George Spady's son, grandson, and great grandsons. Six-year-old Mason is holding the photo of his great-grandfather that you’ll see at Detox.

A  brief timeline shows the role that George Spady and the George Spady Centre played in the development of supports for the homeless community in Edmonton:

· 1960s: George Spady serves a United Church minister in Edmonton’s inner city. Some services were available for transient or unemployed, homeless individuals but not those who were intoxicated. At times, Reverend Spady made his church pews available to those not served in the other overnight shelters.

·  1969 - 1970: The Overnight Shelter for intoxicated men opened then was integrated with the Edmonton Day Centre for Transient Men when the Alberta government began providing funds.

· 1973 - 1980: A new facility, the Edmonton Men’s Shelter, opened with Reverend George W. Spady as the Director until his retirement in 1980.

· 1980 – 1983: Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission (AADAC) collaborated with the Edmonton Men’s Shelter to develop an overnight shelter with mats for 50 intoxicated individuals and a 20-bed non-medical detox program.

· September 26, 1983: the shelter opened at our downtown location and was named the George Spady Centre.

· 1990s: The Spady Centre expanded the number of overnight mats to 60.

· 2020: During the pandemic, overnight shelter services were consolidated in larger city-based facilities and our new Medical Detox Unit began at the George Spady Centre.

Of course, in addition to the downtown location with the Detox, Place of Dignity, and Supervised Consumption programs, this organization has grown to offer a full continuum of services through Housing First, the permanent supportive housing programs (Balwin Place, Cloverleaf, Scattered Site PSH), the Mobile Support Teams, the Clinical Access Team, and the George’s House palliative care program.

Commitment to and caring for the most vulnerable in our community led to the development of the George Spady Centre. The giving spirit of individuals like Mason Spady, other generous community members, supportive municipal and provincial representatives, and a dedicated staff keep that service commitment strong across the GSS programs.