People are 'tired' of living without a home: Kenora fellowship centre hopes compassion continues

The head of the Kenora Fellowship Centre is thanking the community for recent donations of warm clothes during the shutdown of the local emergency shelter and says she hopes that compassion can inspire positive change.

The centre, which offers homelessness and poverty-reduction supports in the community, located about 500 kilometres west of Thunder Bay, has been busier since the Kenora Service Hub and its emergency shelter temporarily closed, said fellowship centre executive director Yvonne Bearbull.

"It's been really cold for the last couple of days," Bearbull said on Friday, adding that the weather has also included a lot of rain. "We've been seeing over the last few days, people coming in with wet clothing, wet blankets."

"A lot of people have been losing their belongings and backpacks and every day, we're hearing 'I need clothing, I need shoes.'"

People in the community have been stepping up, however, Bearbull said, by bringing in donations of clothing. She added that things like sweaters, jackets, shoes, socks and other warm, dry clothing are in demand, as well as blankets and backpacks; those items are always needed, Bearbull added, however, with the lack of shelter, more people need them this year.

With the shelter still closed, the fellowship centre has been providing breakfasts and lunches daily and has been taking in up to 16 people nightly for emergency shelter, as well as providing laundry service. Jubilee Church of God in Kenora has also set up shelter for about another 16 people, Bearbull said.

"There's so many people who are not able to make it into the shelters, so there's a lot of people who have been sleeping out in different areas ... and looking for blankets and [have] been moving their sleeping areas every night, just trying to stay safe."

Saying thank you

While Bearbull said the recent service hub and shelter closures have magnified the need for donations, the fellowship centre has always received donations from the community. It's that "compassion" for which she said she's thankful.

It shows the fellowship centre's patrons that they are "a part of the community," Bearbull said.

"That was really encouraging to see," she continued. "We would like to continue to see that compassion continue even after the service hub reopens and helping the people find their place in this community with employment, with housing."

"People are tired of living in shelters, they're tired of being on the street and want a place to call home like everybody else."