Local overnight shelter expanding hours to 24/7

By Brandon Maher

An official date has not been set yet, but the hope is to have expanded hours for the shelter as soon as next week.

The shelter, located on King Street East, opened in September.

Community members are provided a meal, a bed, and a warm and quiet space to stay.

Joe Mancini, the Director of The Working Centre, the organization that runs the shelter, told CityNews 570 that there are a lot of little pieces to line up in order to provide 24/7 services.

“It really will make a difference for people,” said Mancini. “They will know that they have a space, and that they can be there all day. That just means that we'll have more meals to be served. We'll need to staff a wider area.”

The current hours of operation are from 7 p.m to 9 a.m.

An average of 70 people use the shelter, with at least 20 more people waiting at the door each night.

When it comes to adding more beds in the space, Mancini remarked that The Working Centre is willing to have more individuals because they see the need for people who don't have a place to go each night. 

“The question of beds in the space is quite fluid. The space has the potential for more beds, but it is a question of the neighbourhood, and different levels of government in terms of capacity, and how many actual people we can have in the space.” Mancini commented. 

Mancini added that there haven't been a lot of issues with neighbourhood complaints compared to former shelter locations. 

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