Temporary winter shelter was ‘well used’

Facility at St. Matthews Lutheran Church often over capacity for three months

KITCHENER — The temporary overnight drop-in at a downtown Kitchener church this winter was busy during the three months it operated, with most nights at capacity or over.

Monday was the last day of the program at St. Matthews Lutheran Church, operated by the House of Friendship with funding from the Region of Waterloo since the start of February.

“It was definitely well used,” said House of Friendship executive director John Neufeld.

The objective was to provide a temporary overflow space at night during the cold winter months when the region’s emergency shelters were at capacity.

When shelters are full, the region pays for people to stay in motels. That becomes costly, and it’s not ideal because people are away from meals and other supports offered at shelters.

Regional council endorsed the plan in early January and provided $85,000 in funding.

“We had to come up with a solution very quickly,” Neufeld said.

The drop-in was open from 11 p.m. to 8 a.m. with room for 50 adults, including a designated area for those who wanted to sleep. Support workers were on duty to supervise and help people develop housing plans.

“It allowed us to get to know the individuals we were serving,” Neufeld said.

But the space was not without challenges. Because it was temporary, there was setup and takedown every day. Ideally, a space is built around the need and not the other way around.

“We had to make our needs fit,” Neufeld said. “Overall, we made it work.”

Jennifer Murdoch, regional manager of

housing and homelessness programs, was also pleased with how the temporary dropin worked out. “It came together quickly, but it still provided a great service,” Murdoch said. “It was a warm and welcoming space. It was safe.”

Participants were surveyed to get a better understanding of their needs and why they used the drop-in. Murdoch said those answers will be evaluated to see how regional strategies could be adjusted “to not be in this position again.”

The region would consider a temporary drop-in again if it is needed next winter. Only this time it would be better prepared to open one, Murdoch said.

Neufeld is grateful for the support from the network of shelters, the region, the church, the team and volunteers to make the drop-in site possible.

“We did it, we’re going to learn from it and hopefully we can do things better moving forward,” Neufeld said.