Hub for the homeless would realize Carol Winter’ s dream
The late Carol Winter’s dream to have a 24/7 community hub for marginalized residents is bubbling at the surface.
About 50 people gathered at The Mount Community Centre on Thursday to begin the revival of Ms. Winter’s project.
Ms. Winter, who devoted her life to others, died on Oct. 19.
The 75-year-old dedicated her time to helping the homeless, the poor and the marginalized in Peterborough.
It washer dream to create a place where people in need could go, at any time of day.
Last year, she worked with friends Dan Hennessey and Joanne McGregor to write a proposal for the hub. The trio presented it to the city and various agencies and organizations with the hope of seeing the idea come to fruition.
Hennessy remembers presenting the proposal to the city, with Ms. Winter unaware that they’d chosen her name to brand the hub. It was to be called Carol’s Place.
“It brought tears to Carol’ s eyes ,” Hennessy said looking back.
But Carol’s Place came to somewhat of a halt after that.
It wasn’ t until Ms. Winter passed that Hennessy was “bombarded” with emails asking him to represent the proposal and get the ball rolling again.
“With her untimely passing, it found new legs,” Hennessy said.
So he and McGregor hosted the meeting at The Mount to do just that.
Subsequently, another meeting has been planned for next week to start working on a business plan.
The idea for the hub is to provide a place of support for those in need. Ideally, it would be located downtown and be a spot for educational programs, anon-profit employment agency and recreation activities. It would also offer access to washers and dryers, showers and connections to resources, for instance.
Sheila Nabigon-Howlett, a long-time friend of Ms. Winter’s, attended Thursday’s meeting.
She said her late friend didn’t want existing agencies or organizations to handle the hub’s creation. Instead, Ms. Winter wanted to see it in the hands of advocates, like her.
Nabigon-Howlett was pleased to see the turnout of residents who want to further Ms. Winter’s dream.
“I think that we are catching (Ms. Winter’ s) spirit now and people want to keep it alive while it is on the front burner,” NabigonHowlett said.
Meanwhile, Hen nessy thinks his late friend would be delighted to see hub’s resurgence.
“I think she’s smiling on us right now,” Hennessy said.