Bringing the Hospitaller Mission of the Order of Malta to Toronto
The Good Shepherd Clinic brings medical care directly into a community where people experiencing homelessness already come for food, shelter, assistance and support.
Developed through a partnership between the Canadian Association of the Sovereign Order of Malta and Good Shepherd Ministries, the clinic provides an accessible point of entry to medical care within a setting where relationships of trust already exist.
For the Canadian Association of the Order of Malta, the clinic is a contemporary expression of the Order’s Hospitaller mission: caring for people who are sick, poor and vulnerable.
The Order of Malta and the Good Shepherd Clinic
The Good Shepherd Clinic is rooted in the Hospitaller tradition of the Sovereign Order of Malta, whose origins date to a hospital established in Jerusalem in the second half of the 11th century to care for sick and poor pilgrims.
From those beginnings, the Order developed a continuing religious, medical and humanitarian mission. Today, more than 13,000 Knights and Dames are involved in humanitarian activities in more than 120 countries, serving people who are poor, sick or affected by humanitarian crises.
The Good Shepherd Clinic brings this tradition into a contemporary Toronto setting, where practical healthcare can be offered alongside the other forms of assistance people already receive.
A centuries-old mission. A Toronto community. A place to begin care.
Healthcare Where It Is Needed Most
For people experiencing homelessness, accessing even routine medical care can involve barriers beyond the medical need itself.
Transportation, identification, scheduling, previous experiences with institutions and the daily realities of living without stable housing can all make it difficult to obtain care.
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta - Canadian Association
Email: executivedirector@orderofmaltacanada.org, Telephone: (613) 731-8897