Emergency shelter for women, gender diverse people opens in Kitchener
Posted Dec 5, 2025 02:33:46 PM.
Last Updated Dec 5, 2025 02:43:05 PM.
There are 66 newly renovated spaces to house people who would otherwise be on the streets or in unsafe situations in Waterloo Region.
The emergency shelter, transitional and supporting housing opened on Friday in downtown Kitchener with renovations complete. The region purchased the building at 84 Frederick St. last summer and, by December Services and Housing in the Province (SHIP), needed to run it as an emergency shelter because of demand.
Throughout that time, construction at the building was underway, and added 44 housing spaces.
“(It) will offer safety, dignity and a bridge to permanent, sustainable housing for women and gender-diverse individuals,” Thomas DiCarlo, Acting CEO, Services and Housing in the Province, said. “Without transitional housing and programs like Frederick Street, many women would be forced into untenable choices; returning to unsafe situations, remaining in crisis shelters or becoming part of hidden homelessness.”
The centre provides food, clothing and emergency shelter. It has wrap-around programs that assist people with mental health, addictions, life skills development, tenant relations and access to work or education.
“84 Frederick represents a significant step toward addressing the complex housing and human-service needs of women and gender-diverse individuals experiencing homelessness,” Karen Redman, Regional Chair, said in the press release.
The upgrades were a combined price tag of $12.5 from the municipality and $5.4 from the federal government.
A lot of history of serving the public
Before the region purchased the building, the YW Kitchener-Waterloo operated the space, which it first moved into in 1914. The CEO told CityNews earlier this year that the non-profit outgrew the space.
Now that the building is reopened, it’s likely to be an in-demand space.
In October, the YWCA Cambridge at Grace Bible Church in Galt said it has been at capacity since it opened.
YWCA Cambridge, CEO, Kim Decker, said they only have one option when turning someone away, and that’s connecting them with the shelter at 84 Frederick St.
She said that normally the building has space, but if not, “when we’re turning them away for a space, that means we’re releasing them to the streets.”
With the extra space from the renovations, experts hope it will start chipping away at the compounding homelessness in the region.
