Homeless 'Connection Centre' planned for Wingham, Ont.

You’d be hard pressed to see any signs of homelessness in Wingham, Ont. just a few years ago, but now there are sure signs just steps away from the small town’s Main Street.

“There’s been homelessness in Wingham and area for a long time, but it was primarily people who were couch surfing, living on someone’s couch for a little while. The pandemic has made people uncomfortable with that and with the rising cost of housing and rent, what we’re seeing is more people experiencing homelessness than ever before,” says Ryan Erb, executive director with the United Way of Perth-Huron.

At last count, by Huron County Social Services in 2018, Huron County had more than 100 homeless residents, which is no doubt higher today.

To try and fix the problem, members of the United Way of Perth-Huron are touring Wingham in search of a place to house a Connection Centre - a place for homeless residents to access a hot shower, food, clothing, and help to try to get them off the streets.

“It allows people to get connected and warm in the winter months, and cool in the summer months, but it’s not an overnight shelter and that’s purposeful. We want to make sure we're trying to focus on getting people permanently housed,” says Erb.

There is an overnight homeless shelter in Goderich. A similar 'daytime' Connection Centre was opened by the United Way in Stratford in December. They’ve helped 18 homeless people so far.

“Some people we’re able to, very easily and quickly, get them re-housed and get them what they need. Then others can take awhile to get there, and it’s about building trust,” says Catherine Hardman, executive director of Choices for Change, a Stratford-based alcohol, drug and gambling counselling agency that operates the Connection Centre there in partnership with the United Way Perth-Huron.

To help raise money to fund Wingham’s new Connection Centre, the United Way is holding its first-ever Coldest Night of the Year fundraiser in Wingham on Feb. 26.

“We have to raise money to make this program happen in the area, so one of the ways people can help is by signing up for the Coldest Night of the Year,” says Erb.

“A lot of people are one or two paycheques away from being homeless. People don’t realize that. People think it’s just those with serious mental illness or addiction issues, and that’s just not the case,” says Hardman.

It’s expected Wingham’s Connection Centre will be ready to help people before next winter.

You can learn more about the United Way’s Connection Centre and the Coldest Night of the Year by visiting the United Way's website or the Coldest Night of the Year site.