Unhoused people in Simcoe County seeking respite from the bitter cold may find themselves sleeping in cafeterias, board rooms or offices this winter.
Simcoe is asking local shelter providers to use whatever warm spaces are available to house people during the winter months.
“We’re asking them to look for extra spaces, like board rooms, offices or drop-in rooms where people usually hang out in the day,” says Mina Fayez-Bahgat, Simcoe’s general manager of social and community services. “We’re asking them to make those spaces available to keep people safe from inclement weather.”
The alternate spaces strategy was first employed by the county last year. The county’s patchwork network of shelters is usually able to accommodate about 260 people. During the winter of 2023-2024, the strategy was used to raise that capacity to between 350 and 400 people.
Given the county is home to about 1,300 unhoused people, 48 per cent of them in the Barrie area, the increase in shelter capacity may sound like a drop in the bucket. According to Fayez-Bahgat, however, it is enough ensure no one is forced to face the elements.
“That [figure] doesn’t mean that’s how many people are living on the streets. It includes people who fit the provincial definition of homeless, but are, really, what we describe as precariously housed, like people couch surfing or staying with family on a part-time basis.”
Fayez-Bahgat says the county is only aware of about 350 people who sleep outdoors on a regular basis. Anyone seeking refuge from the cold in the county is able to call 2-1-1 in order to be connected to nearby shelters and warming centres.
“For the last two winters we haven’t had any [exposure deaths] tied to the system,” Fayez-Bahgat adds. “That doesn’t mean no one died of exposure, just that it wasn’t because shelter was unavailable.”
