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As the city of Hamilton rolls out its new winter warming response, three local shelters say they’ll be offering additional beds and drop-in spaces that they hope will serve a growing number of people in need.
Officials shared the new strategy last week, which runs from Dec. 1 through March 31, includes more warming options at some city facilities, and a city bus that will pick people up along an overnight route through the city.
Originally, the city said this year would see 100 new daytime drop-in spaces available all year, and 80 new overnight winter spaces: 35 at the Mission Services Men’s Shelter, and 45 at Willow’s Place for women, transgender and non-binary people.
In an update Friday, officials said the 35 warming spaces at Mission Services would become emergency shelter beds for men, that there would be 10 new beds for men at the Salvation Army Booth Centre, and 40 new drop-in spaces at YWCA Carole Anne’s Place for women and non-binary people.
In an email, Al Fletcher, Hamilton’s director of housing, told CBC Hamilton that emergency shelter spaces are available as beds for individuals, and overnight drop-in are spaces for individuals to warm-up and do not include a bed. “However, offerings for drop-in spaces could change if service providers have additional beds available.”
Service providers told CBC Hamilton they did not previously offer the newly announced beds and spaces.
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Carole Anne’s Place
Chelsea Kirkby, YWCA Hamilton’s vice president of strategic initiatives and program development, told CBC Hamilton their downtown shelter currently has 25 beds, and that when staffing allows, past practice has been for people who don’t have a bed to come and go to access services as they need. With the winter warming response, the YWCA will be offering 40 overnight warming spaces in their building at 75 MacNab St. S.
Kirby said this is new for the YWCA and that the service will be phased in as the association hires staff. People dropping in will be able to keep warm overnight, have snacks, use the washroom, shower and access to supports including harm-reduction services for drug users, shelter referrals and advocacy.
She said the Carole Anne’s Place will be able to serve more people more regularly. The building was previously open from 10 p.m. to 1 p.m., and will open earlier at 6 p.m.
Increasing spaces during the winter will hopefully increase safety for women and gender-diverse people “who might otherwise have gone back into unsafe situations in order to seek shelter,” Kirkby said. “We’re hoping that this provides a certain level of safety and security to those who need it.”
Mission Services
Mission Services of Hamilton’s men’s shelter on 400 King St. E., has 58 beds, and will add an additional 35 emergency shelter beds for the winter response, executive director Carol Cowan-Morneau told CBC Hamilton via email. That increases the organization’s total of emergency shelter beds for men to 93.
People accessing those beds “will receive our full slate of services, 24 hours a day, including supports to seek permanent housing,” she wrote.
At Willow’s Place, the organization’s drop-in for women and non-binary people, the winter response will see an additional 45 drop-in spaces. “This will allow us to serve up to 95 women in a 24 hour period,” Cowan-Morneau wrote, noting that previously, Willow’s place was only open during the day. She noted it would be rare to have that many people in at once, adding: “We do our best to accommodate anyone at the door.”
Users will have access to a warm space, food, laundry and other services.
Booth Centre
Billy Canning, a spokesperson with The Salvation Army Ontario Division, said the 10 beds at the Booth Centre will be new, bringing the downtown shelter’s total number of beds to 96 and 10 overflow.
Winter response no longer linked to temperature
Unlike last year, when the cancellation of a cold alert prompted the closure of a drop-in centre after a Christmas Eve snowstorm, the strategy will no longer be tied to the temperature warnings the medical officer of health issues.
Ahead of a joint news conference by several organizations in homelessness-serving sector on Friday, Jennifer Bonner, who directs downtown drop-in centre The Hub, told CBC Hamilton that change in particular is a real improvement. She also praised work to reach people in need outside of downtown with measures such as the warming bus.
However, she said, “there are still not enough spaces” for people sleeping outside to take respite from the weather, which means overall, the plan is “insufficient.”
At the time, Bonner pointed to a need for low-barrier spaces that unhoused individuals can access if they want to stay with a partner or pet, or if they use drugs. In October, the city reported that there were about 1,700 unhoused people in Hamilton, and 285 shelter beds.
Michelle Baird, Hamilton’s director of housing, previously told CBC Hamilton reducing barriers is something the city needs to work on, even as providers work to “ease or remove service restrictions” when it’s cold.
In an email, Kirkby wrote Carole Anne’s Place does not allow pets, and that people can’t stay with their partners if they’re male. “Should a couple with a male partner and/or person with a pet request access to our space during extreme cold alerts, we work very hard to connect them to the nearest, appropriate accommodation.” She said the location offers a safe-use space for drugs as well as harm reduction resources.
In a Friday news release, the city said it will provide further updates “should more supports and services be finalized,” adding: “The City appreciates the collaboration from the many community partners who stepped up and engaged in meaningful discussions, so that these enhanced services and supports could be delivered to the unhoused population in Hamilton.”
Fletcher wrote that what the city can offer in its winter response partly depends on “the ability of our community partners and whether or not they have the capacity to step up and assist.”
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