When the Out of the Cold emergency shelter program starts running this winter, it will only do so on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday nights – assuming no more churches drop out of the program.
Bethany Evangelical Missionary Church in Kitchener is the fifth church to pull out of the program since it wrapped up for the year last winter.
Rev. Mark Willcock says one of the main factors behind the decision was a concern for the safety of both staff and those making use of the shelter.
“We’ve seen a drastic change in the population that comes to our site,” he tells CTV News.
Similar concerns have been raised among other churches that have left Out of the Cold.
Willcock says a larger conversation is needed about the issue of homelessness in Waterloo Region.
