Cities like Winnipeg face complex challenges, including rising poverty, housing insecurity, and limited access to post-secondary education. Shelter University (Shelter U) responds to that gap directly, offering free university-level, non-credit courses to shelter-based students facing barriers to access, in partnership with the Salvation Army Centre of Hope.
Contact Dr. Aaron Klassen to learn more or collaborate on future projects.
Overview
Shelter U provides free university-level courses for students facing barriers to access, including economic inequality, housing insecurity, and forced displacement. Hosted in partnership with the Salvation Army Centre of Hope in Winnipeg, the program brings campus-based and community-based students together in a shared classroom.
Shelter U is built on the belief that education is one of the most effective paths to dignity and social mobility available today. Students explore ideas through readings, discussion, creative work, and a final group project, guided by experienced faculty in a supportive, seminar-style setting. The goal isn't only academic growth; it's self-confidence, critical thinking, and a renewed sense of belonging and purpose.
Course completers receive a certificate of achievement at a closing ceremony. Students who choose to pursue campus-based study can carry their Shelter U experience directly into Booth UC, with academic credit consideration, letters of recommendation, and relationships with classmates and instructors already in place.
History
Shelter U's approach is rooted in the Clemente Course in the Humanities, developed by Earl Shorris in 1994. Shorris recognized the transformative power of post-secondary education for adult learners who had been shut out of traditional academic paths, work he began through research with repeat offenders. Since then, the model has been adapted by churches, missions, and universities around the world, each shaping it to meet local needs. Shelter U builds on that legacy while responding to the specific realities facing learners and staff at the Centre of Hope.
Objectives
Shelter U will provide opportunities for learners to:
- recognize and overcome social inequalities by tracing and confronting their sources
- strengthen self-esteem and self-confidence through commitment
- be reflexive critical thinkers and problem-solvers
- further develop communication skills
- develop collaborative relationships of mutual respect amongst each other, and with the professor and facilitators
- determine desire for further education
It will also provide opportunities for knowledge keepers and producers to:
- build and nurture transformative relationships in collaboration with shelter-based clients and instructors, workers and volunteers
- produce a corpus of knowledge around frontline work and the experience of poverty
- create a forum for academics to enhance our understanding of the real challenges of poverty and displacement in order to better address those challenges, through research and its dissemination
Program Structure
Shelter U now runs on an annual cycle rather than a staged pilot, reflecting the program's shift from initial testing into an established, recurring offering.
Partnership and planning (January to June)
Booth UC and the Centre of Hope confirm and sign the memorandum of understanding that governs each year's courses.
Course design (May to June)
Course topics and syllabi go to the advisory committee for review, typically by end of June for fall courses and October for winter courses.
Instructor recruitment (May to October)
Facilitators are recruited from Booth UC and partner institutions, including the University of Winnipeg, University of Manitoba, Université de Saint-Boniface, and Canadian Mennonite University.
Student recruitment (July to September)
Community-based students are interviewed and welcomed into the program, alongside campus-based students recruited through Booth UC's regular channels.
Shelter U has already delivered several courses through this model, including Introduction to Music Sociology, Introduction to Visual Thinking, Qualitative Research Methods, and Creative Writing.
Advisory Committee
Shelter U’s advisory committee comprises local academic, community and Indigenous leadership.
Members include: Drs. Aaron Klassen (Dir.), Jason Peters, Isaiah Allen, Mandy Elliot, Lawrence Deane, James Czank, Rob Fringer, Linda Schwartz; Wendi Thiessen MBA, Naomi Enns MEd., BSRN, John Howden, Vincent Solomon (Rev.) and Mark Stewart. John Rook D.Phil is a guest member.
Instructors
Instructors and volunteer tutors will be sourced from Booth UC and local post-secondary institutions, including the University of Winnipeg, University of Manitoba, Université de Saint-Boniface and Canadian Mennonite University.
There is potential to draw from a range of national and international instructors and researchers. With budgetary approval, visiting scholars and postdoctoral researchers could be awarded fellowships to teach at both Booth UC and Shelter U. Instructors may also include full-time Booth UC faculty on sabbatical or teaching/research leave; retired or emeritus faculty; postdoctoral fellows; and graduate and post-grad students.
Courses
Courses mainly fall within the humanities and social sciences, depending on availability of instructors and their area of expertise. Instructors are encouraged to incorporate content into their pedagogy that addresses Winnipeg’s colonial history and Indigenous experience.
Additional courses in the social sciences and spirituality studies will eventually become part of the curriculum, all designed to adopt community-building strategies in their delivery.
Rationale
Shelter U functions as a standalone initiative, apart from regular conventions of a post-secondary institution like Booth UC and an emergency shelter like the Centre of Hope.
Non-traditional learners often experience challenges for which post-secondary institutions have limited or no capacity to address (e.g., mental health, trauma and addictions). Shelters offer related supports and are equipped with programming, knowledgeable personnel and a safe space. However, they are geared toward individual care and do not have a mandate to provide life-long education.
Post-secondary education remains an effective way of achieving upward social mobility today—not only in terms of content delivery, but also in building soft skills that support professional development and mutually supportive networks or community.
There is a great need to create initiatives in which participants—non-traditional learners, instructors and support staff—can work together to bridge gaps and develop meaningful relationships that will contribute to real social change. As that kind of dedicated entity, Shelter U will provide the means.
As recipients of a 2024 Community Grant, we gratefully acknowledge the support from The Winnipeg Foundation.
