New drop-in for men in Hamilton filling a gap in overnight warming services

A year after the City of Hamilton cancelled its overnight warming bus, it is funding a new all-night warming centre for men at St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church on James Street S.

The warming centre, at 70 James St. S., opened Dec. 19, running from 11 p.m. to 9 a.m. every day until March 31. It has 50 spaces open to cisgender and trans men, according to Michelle Baird, the city’s director of housing services. 

“Through the fall this year, we became aware that the number of individuals unsheltered is continuing to grow,” she told CBC Hamilton, noting the city is currently aware of 2,000 people who are unhoused, including more than 300 living unsheltered or outdoors. 

Baird said while last fall the city was focused on expanding shelter beds, the shelter system remains “at or beyond capacity every day,” so it was clear additional resources were needed.

The city’s housing division is funding the new drop-in, a partnership between Hamilton Urban Core Community Health Centre and St. Matthew’s House.

Sandy Ezepue, executive director of Hamilton Urban Core, told CBC Hamilton that drop-ins fill a crucial role for people who can’t or won’t stay in shelters.

“Most of them are full, and some people have complex health and trauma-related needs,” she said. “This is a low-barrier option to keep them out of the cold.”

The drop-in will also act as a point of contact for other social and health supports, including access to Hamilton Urban Core’s Mental Health and Addiction Treatment Hub and its primary care satellite clinic held during daytime hours in the same location.

Ezepue said her organization and St. Matthew’s House are contracted just for this winter for now. “Our goal is that it becomes ongoing,” she said. St. Matt's

The location is a block from the existing overnight drop-in for women and gender-diverse people at the YWCA Hamilton.

A recent news release issued by Urban Core explained that while there are other “warming centre supports,” including one run by Mission Services on Wentworth Street North, “these programs end nightly at 11 p.m., leaving many individuals without safe, warm shelter overnight.”

This gap was previously addressed by the warming bus, an HSR vehicle designated as a moving, overnight warming centre.

That program was cancelled prior to last winter after councillors voted to replace it — and other drop-ins at some recreation centres and libraries — with the Mission Services drop-in centre and additional permanent shelter beds.

Another overnight drop-in is running for a second year, a partnership between local healthcare organizations and The Hub, at First Pilgrim United Church on Main Street. It is open seven days a week from 10 p.m. until 9 a.m., no matter the temperature, until late March.