Nearly $6M from province for emergency shelters, housing in Waterloo Region
Posted Jan 28, 2025 07:51:40 AM.
Last Updated Jan 28, 2025 11:16:22 AM.
Waterloo Region is set to receive $5,946,104 from the provincial government as part of a plan to dissolve encampments in public spaces while creating emergency shelters and more affordable housing.
This comes as the region has plans in place that will see the King Street shelter close at the end of March and be replaced by a new shelter at 84 Frederick St.
That 100-bed emergency shelter on King, for both men and women, opened in 2022 and is operated by The Working Centre. They took in about 40 women when another shelter down the street in Kitchener closed its doors, forcing a large group of men the shelter normally services to look elsewhere or sleep outside.
The plan was to close the shelter and reopen the one on Frederick fully at the same time. Last month the region launched a program that offers emergency shelter services to women and gender-diverse at that location with 37 beds, with plans to expand once renovations are done.
That still leaves about 100 men and women the King Street shelter normally services looking for another place, which the co-founder of The Working Centre, Joe Mancini says are typically full capacity.
He is concerned about what will happen to the people staying at the King Street shelter once it closes March 31.
“It’s going to displace 100 people who already have shelter, if it is to close, using that money to establish a new shelter is definitely important.”
Mancini was happy to see the province’s announcement as he knows all too well that more shelter spaces are needed. Adding without an alternative, downtown Kitchener will see more people living on the street.
“The region has been paying for shelters through its tax base and it’s finally getting some help from the province to address a growing issue.”
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The funding from the province is also supposed to go into Indigenous programs to help people experiencing homelessness.
The KW Urban Native Wigwam Project had to temporarily pause one of their Transitional Housing programs recently. Its Executive Director, Laury Turcotte, believes the Region of Waterloo is supportive of them as they look to restructure and revitalize their program that helps indigenous people locally.
“We are getting a lot of support as everyone is looking forward to seeing this back up and running in the community. Hopefully, we will find another location that will be more conducive to the community as a healing stepping stone towards a permanent home.”
Turcotte’s statement to CityNews Kitchener mentioned that they want to hear from people in the community on how they can revitalize their transitional housing.
The funding was just announced this week so the plan on where the funds are going is unclear. The Region of Waterloo in a statement said they are grateful to the province for the funding boost. They said emergency shelter space and affordable housing are needed urgently in the community.
“We look forward to receiving more details about the funding and it’s application in our community.”
