Peter Harmathy dropped off tarps, ropes, blankets, boots, mittens, toques, mats and a sleeping bag at the makeshift warming centre in downtown Barrie before noon Saturday.
Tarps of different colours lashed to the gazebo in Sam Cancilla Park, on Dunlop Street East just past Mulcaster Street, shielded those using the warming centre from daytime temperatures ranging from minus-8 to minus-14 Celsuis. There were reportedly propane heaters inside the warming centre.
“I think it is disgusting that this is actually happening,” said Harmathy, a Barrie resident, about the need to keep homeless people out of the cold this way.
Pastor Andy Stokes, who is the warming centre organizer, said there are few choices.
“The homeless people have turned to drastic measures for the second winter in a row,” he said. “There is no excuse.”
Stokes said Saturday was the ninth day the warming centre was open, for 12 hours daily from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m.
“It holds as many as come in,” he said of its capacity. “But we need a lot of help.”
Stokes praised the community, people like Harmathy, for their donations to help operate the warming centre.
“I will be dropping off donated rugs to Pastor Andy’s shelter today,” said Coun. Natalie Harris, who has pushed for a permanent warming centre. “What he is doing is wonderful, but it also saddens me that he has to.”
Stokes said he has been homeless in the past and has heard all of the reasons why they’re facing hardships right now.
One is not the pandemic, he added.
“COVID is not the reason this warming centre is open,” Stokes said, pointing to a lack of funding.
Barrie Mayor Jeff Lehman has a different position.
“I’m very concerned about the impacts of COVID and shutdowns on the homeless,” he said. “I think Pastor Andy’s warming station is a result of both the pandemic and gaps in the system in Barrie also due to COVID.
“COVID creates additional issues for warming and shelters as many unhoused folks are vulnerable, due to underlying health conditions. Warming centres and shelters have to be distanced to keep people safe, and there are staffing challenges, too," the mayor added.
But Lehman said there is a shelter bed right now in Barrie for anyone who needs one, as there are four shelter providers with about 240 beds between them.
“This allows the vast majority of our unhoused residents to get off the street, three meals a day and support services,” he said. “However, there are a group of individuals who can’t or won’t go into shelter.
“This may be because of fear of COVID, other fears about shelters, mental-health challenges, and in some cases because they have been banned from the shelters for prior behaviour. With omicron now, there are more people in this situation right now. I can’t imagine how tough and scary it is for these folks right now.”
The mayor noted that homelessness services and prevention is the County of Simcoe’s responsibility in Barrie.
Harris said it's also the city’s responsibility to have a warming centre available outside of the shelter services.
“The County of Simcoe funds our social services, but this is our city,” she said. “We can’t stand around and wait for more funding from the county. We must contribute as well. And going forward, we can’t let this delay happen again.”
Harris said she and Lehman will bringing forward a motion at Monday night’s general committee meeting to amend the housing affordability task force’s report; it’s that the County of Simcoe match the city to fund a warming centre in Barrie for three months, with each contributing half of the $28,000 staffing cost, or $14,000.
But as Stokes pointed out Saturday, there’s no site yet for a warming centre.
Harris said she and the mayor, the John Howard Society, Gilbert Centre, Ryan’s Hope and others have been working on getting an official every day and night warming centre in Barrie for the past month, but to no avail.
“We keep hitting roadblocks such as fire code issues and of course, funding,” she said. “There are conversations about new locations at this time. I have even spoken to Mayor Lehman about possibly having a city bus in the meantime.”
But Lehman said Saturday there could be another option.
“The most recent info I have is that an all-weather overnight warming centre should be available early next week,” he said.
Lehman noted there are two outreach services that help people on the street as well — the Busby Centre’s detour street outreach team and its outreach van, with the latter making stops throughout downtown and in the south end. The city also offers warming at the library and bus terminal when open.
Stokes said Barrie city police had been by the makeshift Dunlop Street East warming centre, but Peter Leon, the police communications co-ordinator, said its operation would be a matter for city bylaw enforcement officers.
