dan kellar
Kitchener, ON – A new space for folks to escape from the cold and receive food and social supports has opened in Kitchener as cold winter weather has set early in Waterloo Region. Thresholds Homes and Supports opened the doors to the new 30 bed overnight warming centre at 298 Lawrence Avenue in November. The new centre will serve any who is 18+ and is inclusive of all gender identities.
In a press release ahead of the opening Jessica Hill, the new warming centre’s team lead is quoted “We are working hard to go beyond giving people a place to warm up, and will have staff on site, including a peer support worker, to connect folks with other supports, and provide a hot meal and snacks to take with them when they leave.”.
The new warming centre comes at a critical time as homelessness continues to plague an increasing number of local residents. The provincial 2024 “Point-in-time” count found that nearly 2,400 people were experiencing homelessness in Waterloo Region, with about 78% of those folks experiencing “chronic homelessness. At the time only 301 shelter beds were available regionally, and with the new overnight 30 bed warming centre, the number is still well below the required capacity.
This show features an interview with Jessica Hill, the team lead of Thresholds Homes and Supports’ new overnight warming centre in Kitchener.
