New clothing needed at men’s shelter
The House of Friendship takes precautions in light of possible bedbug discovery
KITCHENER — The House of Friendship put out a call for donations of new clothing for men staying at its shelter as it takes precautions amid a potential health concern.
The organization posted on Twitter about a “possible bedbug infestation” on Thursday morning, but housing services director Christine Stevanus said that was a miscommunication. The tweet was deleted a short time later.
“There’s nothing confirmed,” Stevanus said. “We’re doing our due diligence.”
When there’s a suspected issue such as bedbugs in the shelter, staff quickly take action to try and avert a problem.
“We always take things seriously,” Stevanus said.
Any potential issue is checked out immediately and precautions include extra cleaning and washing, and bringing in a professional. Those are being done in this case.
Stevanus said there are signs of things going on in the shelter but she couldn’t elaborate. Protecting those staying at the shelter is paramount, both their well being and perceptions in the wider community.
“Often they’re thought of quite negatively,” Stevanus said.
Misconceptions about bedbugs can reflect poorly on people who need to stay in emergency shelters.
“It’s not based on a person’s cleanliness,” Stevanus said. “People with million-dollar homes have had struggles.”
Deb Schlichter, the region’s director of housing, said in general, emergency shelters take precautions for all sorts of potential health concerns. If bedbugs are discovered, it’s important to quickly contain affected items and provide treatment to prevent it from spreading.
The Region of Waterloo provides funding to seven shelters in the region.
Schlichter stressed that bed bugs can happen to anyone and anywhere and are not indicative of living conditions. A person gets bedbugs by coming into contact with them, and increasingly that’s happening to people who travel frequently.
The House of Friendship is asking for new men’s jeans, shorts, casual pants, underwear and towels.
“We always have a need for donations,” Stevanus said.