One City Peterborough will be operating a daytime drop-in and winter accommodations for people experiencing homelessness this winter at the former Trinity United Church, now called "Trinity Community Centre".
The winter accommodations will be open for six months of the year, beginning this winter. It will be open from 8:00pm to 8:00am daily, accommodating up to 45 people per night. This space is offered to individuals who are unable to access the current shelter system for a variety of reasons.
The day-time program will be open for four hours per day, 365 days a year. On extreme weather days, the space will have extended hours to accommodate the needs to provide respite from the elements. This service will be replacing the current day-time drop-in hosted at One Roof Community Centre, which is set to close in the coming months.
One Roof Community Centre currently offers one hot meal per day for community members. At this time, One City is not funded to offer this service. Recognizing the need for food security, solutions are being sought in order to provide a regular meal program.
"In a time when food insecurity is growing for so many, we recognize that providing a reliable meal is an important element of this program, and we will do everything we can to offer it" states Christian Harvey, Executive Director of One City.
The City of Peterborough is committing $900,000 per year over the next three years to fund operational costs. The programming fits within the longer term vision of developing the Trinity Centre into a community hub in partnership with the PPRN (Peterborough Poverty Reduction Network). United Way Peterborough is assisting with the renovation costs, which are currently underway in preparation for hosting community members in the space.
Click below to watch the video announcement from One City's Executive Director and the Director of Outreach Services.