Out of the Cold
Amanda introduced Robert Sykes who holds a Master of Social Work and who moved to Midland in 1994 to be the Executive Director of the Catholic Family Life Centre. He has been active in the community, serving on the founding Board of Community Link and working with Big Brothers and Big Sisters. He is now the Deputy Director of Out of the Cold and is leading the drive to establish the new shelter.
Robert said it was an accident that brought him to Midland. He had been doing consulting work which required a lot of travel but he fell off a ladder when volunteering and had to take a desk job.
The Out of the Cold program is now 10 years old and is currently offering accommodation and meals from 5 - 8 pm 7 days a week. 430 trained volunteers prepare and serve 1,500 dinners, 650 breakfasts and supervise 425 overnight stays. It is part of a number of programs and agencies, each of which help as they can. Shelter Now, for instance, tries to transition clients into permanent housing and it provides a vital level of support but it can't respond on an emergency shelter basis.
There was a shelter in Midland but it closed in 1995. It had 8 beds and received Provincial funding and drew guests from all of North Simcoe. As it operated under the supervision of the Salvation Army the guests often helped out at the Thrift Store. Housing is a Human Right and lack of housing leads to migration. People move away from their support groups in hopes of finding something and end up worse off. The Standard calls for one funded bed per 2,000 residents in the community. Robert says Wal-Mart doesn't build unless there's a market of 65,000 people which means North Simcoe should have 33 beds and it only has 6 now. One in every 40 people in a community will experience homelessness and if a person suffers from mental health issues their chances of being homeless at some point are 50/50. With Waypoint in our area the need for beds goes up.
Many visitors to OotC are only looking to eat but many people still sleep outside or take refuge in unsafe environments. There are as many as 2,000 students sleeping on couches in the County. So support is strong for a permanent shelter. A poll shows 86% support among the public and the politicians are supportive. Total cost will approach a million dollars. The OotC is fiscally responsible, is incorporated and has charitable status.
Robert showed a plan of the facility which will be on the second floor of the education wing of Knox Church. It is a regional solution, is designed to be flexible, is accessible (the elevator is taking one third of the million), will be green with solar on the roof and will be safe for guests, staff and the community with surveillance and lighting. It will be open 24/7/365 and will stay primarily volunteer. There will be a core of paid staff and there is fund raising and grant applications going on. There will be 25 beds in smaller rooms so a mix of men, women and youth can be accommodated or even families. There will be showers, laundry, a commercial kitchen, a lounge with wi-fi (for job hunting) and the CLH will help with the cleaning.
The facility will also serve as a Community Service Centre and as a drop in centre and warming/cooling site. The staff will be offering programs and education and will be doing research into homelessness in rural environments, in conjunction with Waypoint. This is a subject that has not been studied.
Zoning is approved and tenders are in. Offers of help in kind, such as donated solar panels, materials and beds have been received. The congregation of Knox is supportive. Orientation and training for new volunteers is ongoing. It will be a resource for those most in need, Robert says and adds that 'Kindness inspires kindness'.