Joe Mancini

From A Better Tent City to Cabins on Ardelt

Joe Mancini September 13, 2026

A Better Tent City (ABTC) was a remarkable shelter project that grew out of a plan developed in January 2020 by Ron Doyle and Jeff Willmer to respond to growing homelessness. With the formal shelters all full, Ron and Jeff wanted to create better shelter options compared to random encampments. Two years later, during a cold and muddy November, the cabins of ABTC were moved to the Ardelt property by agreement with the City of Kitchener and the Waterloo Region District School Board.

Rethinking Economics

Joe Mancini September 13, 2026

The United Nations (UNEP) report, Limiting Overshoot, confronts the reality that the world needs to face the inevitability of exceeding 1.5°C global warming beyond the 2015 Paris climate accord threshold. Do the warnings against increased extraction and burning of coal, oil and gas fall on deaf ears even while we face decades of increased weather-related disasters, rising seas, melting ice and glaciers, and extinctions?

Remembering Arleen Macpherson (1937 – 2026)

Joe Mancini June 5, 2026

On May 9th 2026, we celebrated Arleen Macpherson’s immense contribution to the development of The Working Centre community. For over 30 years from (1987 – 2017) Arleen offered unwavering commitment to support those who have been left out. Her work was marked by her natural ability to combine prayerful reflection with thoughtful action. Her practicality was demonstrated by taking on St. John’s Kitchen and creating a place of welcome and hospitality. This work stretched from organizing and cooking in the kitchen, to walking gently with those facing struggles, to writing and reflecting on poverty and relationships.

Developing A Social Medicine Hub

Joe Mancini June 5, 2026

Every day at St. John’s Kitchen we witness a drug crisis that continues to grow. We see sons and daughters, sisters and brothers lost to a drug trade that leaves lasting scars and horrific damage to body and psyche. We know it is a violation of human dignity and community solidarity. How can we respond to help reduce the level of poverty, the lack of connection, the lack of housing, the bitterness of being left to fight for one’s own survival?

A Regenerative Economy

Joe Mancini March 1, 2026

Dutch historian Rutger Bregman’s 2025 Reith Lecture is optimistically titled “A Moral Revolution”. His main theme is a call for a moral revolution, the kind of revolution that can only be sparked by small committed groups working to change the way people think and act on the serious issues that surround them. While we live in the midst of tremendous wealth, it is undoubtable that growing inequality is a root issue. At the same time we live in societies where waste piles up, soils are degraded, the chemical balance of the atmosphere is altered, while fossil fuel use is still debated.

How an Inhospitable Labour Market Increases Homelessness

Joe Mancini September 1, 2025

Canadians are asking why the number of unhoused people has grown steadily over the past ten years. In Waterloo Region alone, there are over 2371 people are unhoused.

It is widely agreed that the homelessness crisis is the result of poor housing planning. The supply of housing has not kept up with demand, causing rising housing prices. At the same time, housing became coveted as a commodity, which has added to inflated housing costs.

Building Community with Our Neighbours

Joe Mancini June 1, 2025

Remarks by Joe Mancini at the 36th Mayors’ Dinner: There are so many people who are here tonight who contribute to The Working Centre. It is overwhelming to think about the deep generosity that has helped sustain TWC’s village of community supports.

A Busy Christmas Season

Joe Mancini March 1, 2025

This Christmas season was a busy time. We received overflowing generosity as the community responded to ensure many meals were available through the Christmas season. During mid-December, Maurita’s Kitchen on Queen Street was extra busy as over 1000 pounds of turkey were cooked and prepared for serving. In the final days massive quantities of potatoes, vegetables and gravy were produced and made ready. Altogether about 800 Christmas meals were prepared and served at St. John’s Kitchen, King Street Shelter and the Erbs Road Shelter.

An Alternative Path of Positive Cultural Change

Joe Mancini March 1, 2025

The Jesuit Disruptor offers a guide to embracing the animating spirit of the Gospels. Michael Higgins does this by documenting the changes percolating below the surface of Catholicism, rethinking democracy and reciprocity. Of course, the changes Francis has developed could all fall apart. Yet, Higgins produces evidence that the reforms themselves are the learning process. This book is about an alternative path of positive cultural change. A model in utter contrast to the one presently playing out in Washington. Francis is disrupting patterns, expectations, and the standard way of doing things, but not as a negative-malignant way of overturning old structures, rather with a focus on constructive goals through useful actions.

40 Years of St. John’s Kitchen

Joe Mancini December 1, 2024

In early January 2025, St. John’s Kitchen will mark 40 years of serving a daily weekday meal in downtown Kitchener. The journey to ensure that the door of St. John’s Kitchen is open each day to continually serve the daily meal and to be a place that people count on, is a major part of our 40 year story. It is also a story of a changing place, of responding to dramatic changes on the ground.

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