Published March 2024
This winter, outreach workers have estimated that more than 150 people are homeless without a place to live. This means that daily shelter for this group is a constant battle for survival. Sometimes they will get a place at an emergency shelter when there is an opening, other times they stay with a friend, other times they gather in a room where others are squatting or winter camping.
This winter in cooperation with the Region, winter warming packages were distributed to those who are camping in Waterloo Region. The packages included insulated blankets, sleeping bags, artic lights, tarps, boots, and warm clothing.
The issue of homelessness will always be acute in the winter. Luisa D’Amato described the issue well in a Record Editorial.
“Meanwhile, other problems, like the flood of mental health problems and drug addictions, made it more difficult for some homeless people to get into a supportive program that would help them find a room somewhere.”
“Homeless people aren’t all the same. Some quietly manage, sleeping on a friend’s couch, or in their car. Some get a place in a shelter. With help from staff, they can work toward starting a new life, in affordable housing. They’re the lucky ones.”
“But another group, the most vulnerable of all, can’t get to a shelter. Maybe they aren’t welcome, because their mental health challenges mean their behaviour is difficult to manage. Or they are afraid. This is the group that most needs a warming centre — just a place to get warm and sit for an hour with a cup of coffee.”
As the temperature dropped below -10C and lower, The Working Centre developed a plan to set up a warming centre for those who had few options in the freezing cold. We extended the hours at our 87 Victoria St. N house to open as an emergency warming centre for 9 days between Sunday Jan 14th and Monday Jan 22nd. 87 Victoria N has been operating as a day time warming centre offering washrooms, showers, laundry, harm reduction and a place to warm up during regular hours. We outfitted and staffed the space when we moved St. John’s Kitchen back to St. John’s church during the construction of our new housing. Extending the hours during the cold snap was an important message of right action with 30-40 people spending the night in circumstances that are not ideal, (and 80-90 people visiting per day). We watched tough people cry in pain as their fingers thawed in the warm space; people huddled together with determined calmness as we celebrated this small act of welcome – an act of solidarity and care.
Thank you to everyone who helped to extend this hospitality. In the most recent cold bout in February we have extended some of our ongoing shelter spaces to offer a warming space as temperatures felt like -16 without triggering an official cold weather response.
