Freezing temperatures: Chatham Hope Haven makes call to open overnight

The general manager of Chatham Hope Haven is “going out on a limb” to expand the hours of the shelter to serve the homeless as night-time temperatures are forecast to dip below freezing this week.

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“I don’t know how we are going to do it, but I do know that it’s getting colder and people will die if we don’t do something for them,” Loree Bailey said.

Hope Haven, which opens daily from 10 am to 2 pm, to provide food and access to showers and laundry, made the decision to open from 7 am to 7 pm Monday, as a warming center with hopes of continuing until March 1.

Concerned about Chatham-Kent council recently hearing there are 10 encampments with about 200 people experiencing homelessness, Bailey said the matter is going to council next week for funding to deal with extreme weather.

“But, it is cold this week, so I said, ‘You know what, we’re just going to do this.’”

Bailey expects there will be a good response from council because, “I think that we have council members that appreciate what’s going on.”

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She said Hope Haven is grateful council takes homelessness as seriously as it does and provides funding to have the shelter open on very, very cold nights.

Chatham Coun. Alysson Storey said, general speaking, council makes sure homeless people in the community get the services they need.

“I believe, personally, it is critical that we support the different partners in Chatham-Kent that provide those services because we can’t do it alone,” she said.

Chatham Coun. Amy Finn is glad Hope Haven is taking this step “for humanity reasons.”

If homeless people are cold, she said, “It’s nice to know there’s a place they can do and get a warm coffee at 3 am and warm up a bit before they go back out.”

Chatham Coun. Marjorie Crew said, “These are human beings and it is cold.”

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Crew is also grateful for the work Bailey and her team do at Hope Haven.

Finn agrees with Bailey’s concern that someone is going to die out there in this cold weather.

“If there’s something that can be done, a minimal thing, I’d like to see it be done,” she said.

She says Hope Haven has experienced staff and volunteers who are prepared to provide help.

Finn is concerned if there isn’t a place for homeless people to go to get warm, they will start to build fires, which could lead to dangerous situations.

Storey said and many councilors have expressed the concern many times about what happens this winter.

“We haven’t really seen this level of homelessness in our community in recent memory, maybe ever,” she said. “We really need to take a different look at it.”

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Storey knows other communities are starting to develop formal winter homelessness plans.

“We might want to consider the same thing, because this issue, sadly, does not appear to be going away anytime soon and we cannot afford to lose anyone just because of a societal failure to provide enough safe and secure housing for all of our citizens ,” she said.

However, Bailey says funding is a challenge, especially with the strike by Canada Post workers.

She said many of their donations arrive by mail, so the timing of the strike by Canada Post “could not be worse.”

Bailey said donations can be made through e-transfer at [email protected]. Donations can also be dropped off to Hope Have at 183 Wellington St. W. in Chatham from 10 am to 1:45 pm

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She says deciding to open overnight might not be a great business decision, “but it’s a humane decision.”

Bailey said Hope Haven serves about 80 people a day and will take in the same or more overnight as a warming center with no beds set up.

“We are doing everything we can to sustain the people that come every day” she said. “We offer breakfast, a hot lunch, coffee, internet, showers and laundry to anyone who needs it.

“There is an entire community of people who come every day,” she said. “We are their lifeline.”

Bailey said many people come to get something to eat, warm up and maybe watch a movie before heading on their way.

Most of the people who come to the warming center are homeless, but not everyone, Bailey said.

“Some of them are housed, but they might not have heat or hot water,” she said. “They come in and they’re happy for the heat and then they go back to wherever they go.”

[email protected]

Where to get help

• Anyone experiencing homelessness is asked to call the homeless response line at 519-354-6628.
• Anyone experiencing homelessness and in need of Hope Haven’s services overnight can call the shelter at 519-351-4010 and transportation may be available.

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