Overnight warming bus service cancelled by Hamilton councillors, as they opt for new drop-in

A transit bus designated as a moving, overnight warming centre is unlikely to be on Hamilton streets this winter, after councillors voted unanimously Wednesday to replace the program – and other drop-ins at some recreation centres and libraries – with one 25-person overnight drop-in centre and additional permanent shelter beds.

The warming bus program ran from Dec. 1, 2023 to March 31 of this year, nightly from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Its route was a loop covering the Mountain and lower city, with about 15 stops including the West Hamilton Bus Loop, Lime Ridge Mall, Eastgate Square Terminal, Norman Pinky Lewis Recreation Centre and Park and Cannon streets. 

City staff recommended a drop-in in a fixed location instead, in order to offer more services than were possible on the bus and to try to serve more people, director of housing services Michelle Baird told the committee.

"The bus was full on a nightly basis," she said Wednesday, noting there was space for 20 people on the vehicle. "Once they got on the bus, often people didn't leave."

Baird said the bus took several hours to complete its loop, so was not a quick way for people to seek indoor shelter. She also noted that while there were snacks on the bus, it was not a place where staff could serve meals.

"It really was a minimal service intervention: a warm space and light snacks," said her colleague Rob Mastroianni, the city's manager of homelessness and housing support, noting the new drop-in would have "on-site staff that will be able to support them in a different way."

Andrew Matthews, manager of outreach and seniors programs at St. Matthew's House, which was involved in the bus program, said that the organization had staff on the bus that were excited to work on it again this year.

"Our team thought it was a super interesting and novel idea, and we were interested to implement plans to improve the program on a second go around," he told CBC Hamilton in an email on Thursday, saying the bus saw a total of 2,759 riders throughout the life of the program.

"For the clients that used the bus, it was a welcome program and provided just a little bit of relief from the cold (particularly on bitter nights)."

But Matthews also said he understands the city's need to focus resources where they will be most effective.

"Naturally, I would like to see a scenario where everything runs… By opening more services, we can spread out and alleviate the pain felt by our unhoused neighbours and nearby communities," he said, noting that would require a more vigorous effort by all levels of government in cooperation.

"Expecting that won't happen anytime soon, I am left to understand and agree with the city's position that these other programs are a more effective use of taxpayer dollars."

New evening drop-in to operate on Wentworth Street

When the bus service launched last year, as part of its winter strategy, the city also added 80 new overnight winter spaces, extended hours at three community centres and added hours at the central library branch on holidays.

Advocates for the users of these services, such as The Hub's executive director Jennifer Bonner, say drop-in facilities play an important role for the city's unhoused residents because many shelters have barriers to staying there. These include banning drug use or possession of drug paraphernalia, curfews, creating exclusion lists of people who have behaved in problematic ways in the past, not providing food after a certain time in the evening, no-pet policies and segregation by gender, which can be a barrier for couples.

On Wednesday, councillors approved the new "evening" drop-in space at the Mission Services building on Wentworth Street North, just south of Barton Street East, "effective December 1." It will have room for 25 people of all genders, said the report, which did not specify the hours the service will run. 

Wednesday's vote also made 45 existing temporary shelter spaces into permanent spaces. Those are in addition to 192 recently approved new temporary shelter beds that are expected to be operational in the short term, staff said Wednesday. 

"A high number of both clients and program staff reported that funded programs should focus on providing space to warm up/get out of the cold, safe space to sleep/rest, and provision of meals/snacks services as the highest priorities," said the report that came before councillors. 

'People are going to freeze to death'

Bonner – whose organization, The Hub, operates a downtown drop-in from 5 to 9 p.m. – says expanding the shelter system is important, but it isn't a replacement for services aimed at people who feel unsafe, or are not welcome, in shelters.

"How many people are going to access them if they aren't accessing them now," she told CBC Hamilton on Thursday. "You can have all those services in place but if someone's not ready to move along, they're just not going to."

She said there does not appear to have been an open call from the city for operators for the overnight warming space, as her organization may have participated. Bonner also says 25 new spaces is not nearly enough to meet the need, and says the city hasn't detailed whether there will be conditions on who is allowed to access the space. 

The city keeps a list of drop-in spaces and their criteria on its website. 

Bonner notes that after The Hub closes at 9 p.m., there will be people who want to continue to be indoors who will have to walk about 30 minutes from its Park Street location to Wentworth Street North, in winter conditions. 

"People are going to freeze to death if this is all we've got," Bonner said. 

Wednesday's vote will go to council for ratification next Wednesday.