Shelter at former Schwaben Club will soon be open 24/7

The emergency shelter at the former Schwaben Club in Kitchener, Ont., will soon be open 24 hours a day, to help keep more people out from the cold this winter. That also means more beds, which would expand its capacity.

"In the summer, for sure, it's not as crucial. But winter? It'll really help people tremendously and it really will release this kind of wandering downtown, wandering back and forth," Joe Mancini told CBC Kitchener-Waterloo. Mancini is the director of the Working Centre, which operates the shelter.

The emergency shelter on King Street was launched in September. It offers overnight accommodations for up to 70 people from 7 p.m. to 9 a.m. There are an estimated 1,100 people experiencing homelessness across Waterloo region.  

Mancini said the shelter is often at capacity, and some of the people CBC spoke to said they've waited hours to ensure they get a bed.

John Woods said he's been coming to the shelter since it opened, and this week he waited four and half to five hours to get in. 

"I like this the most," Woods said. "It's a good shelter because they have good food."

When Woods isn't at the shelter, he said he sometimes goes to the soup kitchen downtown.  

"Unfortunately, the region [of Waterloo] is working hard, but at this point it's known that there are not enough beds," Mancini said.

A spokesperson for the region said that 50 extra beds will be added by the end of the month, and another 150 are slated for January. 

Lack of barrier free options, says Mancini

That will help alleviate the pressure on the shelter system, said Mancini, but there's still a big demand for shelters with fewer restrictions.

The Working Centre shelter is considered a low barrier shelter; it's open to couples, people with pets, and those dealing with addiction. It's also inclusive of all gender identities. 

If people are turned away after it reaches capacity, Mancini said that there aren't many other barrier-free options.

"Sometimes the region will say that there are beds in Cambridge, but … if you look around the individuals here, their lives are in quite disarray for any number of reasons and the idea of going all the way to Cambridge, then how do you get back?" said Mancini.

"Your relationships, your friends are here and then you're going to be in Cambridge … So people don't think Cambridge is an option. Maybe one or two people do, but most don't."

He said that beds may be available at other shelters, but those who are in need may not be eligible since some shelters are exclusively for youth or women.

"If you don't have a place to go at night, you can't knock on somebody's door and they're going to let you in," said Mancini. "You're really kind of stuck in our society."

A spokesperson for the Region of Waterloo said it is looking for ways to reduce barriers to shelter access. 

That includes new shelters and expanding existing ones — like at the former Schwaben Club. 

But the reality is, the demand is hard to keep up with.

"While we show availability in our system consistently, we are experiencing pressures in the adult system most nights," said spokesperson Lynsey Slupeiks.