Search continues for Sunday supper venue, permanent overnight shelter venue in St. Catharines
The St. Catharines Out of the Cold program will live to see another season.
Earlier this year, Susan Venditti, chair of the inter-church committee for the Out of the Cold program, said this season was in jeopardy because its current structure of rotating overnights at area churches was no longer able to accommodate the increasing numbers of men and women seeking a roof over their head at night.
Last season, there was a 108 per cent increase in the number of guests staying overnight at the shelters. The program accommodated 7,864 people with overnight stays in its 21st year.
“Those numbers are very, very high,” said Venditti. “With those increased numbers, the churches were saying there has to be a better way to deliver this program.”
Alongside increased numbers for overnight stays, Venditti said, there was also a corresponding rise of difficult behaviours.
“We realized there was a need for professional help to deal with some of the behaviours (volunteers) were seeing. The volunteers were saying they needed backup,” said Venditti. “The program will now be staffed every night of the week.”
The organizing committee made a vital change to how the program works this year. In the past, host churches would serve supper to an average of 150 to 200 people each night and then the same church would serve as the overnight shelter.
This year, the supper will be served at one location and then guests will move to a different place for the overnight shelter program. Venditti said it is hoped this will help better meet the needs of homeless guests while maintaining the involvement of churches and volunteers.
With the help of Mayor Walter Sendzik and Niagara Centre MPP Jeff Burch, Venditti said a deal was struck with Niagara Folk Arts Multicultural Centre to use Robertson Hall three nights a week for the overnight shelter component of the program. The Church Street hall will welcome guests on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
“There are accommodations there that need to be made, but the mayor’s had a team in place working to get the facility ready to host for the season,” said Venditti. “It’s been great to see these people — the mayor, the people from the folk arts — stepping up to help the most disadvantaged in our community. It’s really encouraging.”
Downtown churches will accommodate the program for the remaining four nights: Silver Spire United Church on Sundays, Queen Street Baptist Church on Tuesdays, St. Barnabas Anglican Church on Fridays and Knox Presbyterian Church on Saturdays.
There are 35 beds available each night, offered in partnership with Start Me Up Niagara. The program will run Nov. 1 to April 15. An enhanced registration program will now make it possible to direct people to vacant beds and determine actual homelessness status so individuals who are homeless access the beds.
Niagara Region is adding new hostel beds this year, including 15 in Niagara Falls at the new Out of the Cold program there operated in partnership with Project Share.
Venditti said while the overnight shelter component is covered, they’re still looking for a host for the supper program on Sundays.
“We’ve got the food, we’ve got the volunteers, we just need a place,” she said.
A potential venue would be able to accommodate the program from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays, with a full kitchen and enough room for 150 to 200 guests.
Venditti said there are a couple of irons in the fire, but a venue has yet to be confirmed.
The supper program will be hosted at Silver Spire Church on Mondays, Cathedral of Saint Catherine of Alexandria on Tuesdays, St. George’s Anglican Church on Wednesdays, St. Alfred Roman Catholic Church on Thursdays, Knox Presbyterian on Fridays, and Queen Street Baptist on Saturdays.
The committee is still hoping to find a permanent overnight space for Nov. 1, 2019. An ideal venue would be centrally located in or near the downtown St. Catharines core, with a large area that would serve as the living room and a second room off to the side. Venditti said there would also need to be a quiet space where volunteers could talk to and help guests. There needs to be adequate restroom facilities and showers.
“We’re hopeful we’ll be able to find a solution,” she said.
Photo captions and credits: The St. Catharines Out of the Cold program starts in just a few weeks. - Todd Korol , Toronto Star file photo Source: https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/news-story/8955265-overnight-shelters-found-for-out-of-the-cold-program/