5 Out of the Cold locations are now out of the program
Bethany Evangelical Missionary Church on Frederick Street in Kitchener is the latest church to close its doors to the Out of the Cold program, making it the fifth site to do so.
That means Out of the Cold will be offered only three nights a week out of seven in Waterloo Region.
"It's been a long process of coming to this decision," said Julie Lynch, the church's Out of the Cold site coordinator.
Out of the Cold is not a permanent solution. This is not what we want for these people for the next 15 years.- Julie Lynch, Bethany Evangelical Missonary Church Out of the Cold site coordinator
"We did a lot of homework over the summer. We met with a lot of the different agencies, we met with the region. We just did some digging and some homework to see what was available and there is a lot available and we just want to support that."
Lynch said after discussion with other service providers and volunteers, Bethany Evangelical Missionary Church made the decision to close its Saturday night Out of the Cold site this winter because the church wants to support long-term housing opportunities.
"Out of the Cold is not a permanent solution. This is not what we want for these people for the next 15 years," Lynch said.
Since wrapping up its 2013-2014 winter of service last April, Out of the Cold has lost five sites. That includes St. John's Lutheran Church in Waterloo, which announced it would not be participating in the program this year due to increased safety concerns for church volunteers.
Lynch said similar concerns prompted Bethany Evangelical Missionary Church to reevaluate its involvement in the program.
- Out of the Cold volunteers challenged by clients using drugs
- Debate: Should Out of the Cold program close all sites or not?
In an interview with CBC on The Morning Edition, Waterloo Region Police Supt. Kevin Thaler said some of the safety concerns stem from a changing demographic of guests at Out of the Cold, citing increased drug use among the region's homeless population.
"We thought we'd seen it all with crack in the 90s and then crystal meth comes along and it seems to be literally ten fold," said Thaler. "In the middle of the night when people go through withdrawal they get unusual behaviours. This is stuff even the volunteers haven't seen in the past 15 years."
Ray of Hope, St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church and Trinity United Church in Kitchener have also withdrawn from the Out of the Cold program.