Local shelters brace for higher demand as temperatures drop

With the winter months fast approaching, some local shelters fear they won’t have the capacity to accommodate everyone who comes to their door.

“There’s always the concern that the need is greater than the availability,” said Oneroof Youth Services CEO Sandy Dietrich-Bell.

Oneroof Youth Services is one of five regionally funded emergency shelters across Kitchener and Cambridge.

The facility offers 72 beds for anyone aged 16 to 25 but regularly reaches capacity.

“[Friday night] our shelter is booked, and I think we’ve got four people spoken for beds in the overflow,” Dietrich-Bell told CTV News

Abla Tsolu is YW Kitchener-waterloo’s director of homelessness and housing services. She says as temperatures fall, the demand for beds will rise.

“It does put a little bit of pressure on shelter systems,” Tsolu said.

Oneroof says it’s taken in youths living at the Victoria Street encampment, looking to escape the elements.

“As the weather continues to get colder, that encampment situation is going to be less and less attractive,” Dietrich-Bell said. “Some youth are spending their days at the encampment, and then coming to us to sleep.”

Officials say all of the shelters coordinate to make more space available for those who need it, but the next few months expect to be even more challenging

“December, January, February, I’m anticipating that our shelter will be full and our overflow beds will be full as well,” Dietrich-Bell said.

According to the Region of Waterloo, the new House of Friendship facility on Weber Street is set to open in January. The shelter will offer 100 spaces, compared to its current capacity of 26.

There will be 50 new beds at the YW Kitchener-Waterloo Frederick Street location by the end of the month.

As part of the interim housing solutions strategy, 50 spaces will become available in the hybrid outdoor shelter model by the start of next year.

Some 24-hour services will also be expanded in the new year.