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CKMS News – 2026-08-08 – St. John’s Kitchen Opens Around the Clock as Homelessness Crisis Deepens in Waterloo Region

Eren Yoruk

Kitchener, ON — St. John’s Kitchen in Kitchener has permanently expanded its services to operate around the clock, responding to growing demand from people experiencing homelessness in Waterloo Region.

The kitchen, operated by The Working Centre, began its new 24/7 schedule on July 27. It now welcomes drop-ins from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., before providing overnight support from 9 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. The facility closes briefly each morning for cleaning and setup.

The expansion comes as homelessness continues to grow across the region. The Region of Waterloo reported in 2024 that chronic homelessness had increased by an average of 28 per cent each year since 2020. Joe Mancini, director and co-founder of The Working Centre, says the growing number of people experiencing homelessness has put increasing pressure on services.

In this story, we speak with Mancini, St. John’s Kitchen staff and volunteers, and a person experiencing homelessness about the impact of the kitchen The interviews explore what the 24/7 operation means for people using the facility, how staff respond to the growing demand, and the broader housing, employment and drug-related factors contributing to homelessness in Waterloo Region.

For more information about St. John’s Kitchen, visit theworkingcentre.org.

CKMS News -2025-12-15- Police budget push-back as cops ask for another 20 million a year and a new building.

dan kellar
Kitchener, ON – As the Waterloo regional police ask for another $20,000,000 dollars to be added to their yearly budget, in addition to $173,000,000 for a new “communications centre”, residents and even some regional councillors are questioning the ballooning expenditures. A primary concern is that yearly multi-million dollar increases to the police budgets are starving other services of funding since council is pressured to keep tax increases low.

The Waterloo Region police budget, which was over $230,00,000 in 2025, has increased by more than $100,000,000 since 2014, and has more than doubled since 2013. This year’s request of over $250,000,000 will represent over 30% of the regional budget. In comparison, housing and homelessness services are budgeted at $165,200,000 for 2026.

The increase in the police budget will result in an average 6.75% property tax increase for regional residents, that’s another 57$ a month beyond all the previous yearly increases.

The police presented their budget to the Regional Council at the end of November and in a council meeting on December 3rd council heard from the police association and residents. While the police say more money to the force and more cops “will help save residents” delegates noted that funding upstream services, such as housing options and mental health supports, have more impact on reducing crime than more armed cops with “boots on the ground”.

In a surprise move ahead of the budget vote on December 16th, Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic put forth a motion to block the police’s capital budget saying the new communications centre is “beyond their mandate” and it “is highly unlikely that all three emergency services would engage in this partnership in any foreseeable future”. However the same motion calls for the approval of the $20,000,000 yearly increase to the police budget.

This show features audio from both the December 3rd and November 26th council meetings.

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