Downtown Kitchener emergency women's shelter set to close this summer

A long-standing women's emergency shelter in downtown Kitchener is set to close its doors this summer. 

The YW Kitchener-Waterloo shelter located at 84 Frederick St. has been operating in the community since the early 1970's.

Officials with the not-for-profit organization say they've outgrown the space. 

"The needs of our clients have become increasingly complex as we look at so many of the root causes of women experiencing homelessness," YW K-W CEO Jennifer Breaton said. "The building is aging in infrastructure, it's overcrowded and it's not designed to meet the needs of the clients we support."

The shelter houses 66 beds for women in need. According to Breaton, there are 54 women who are living there at this time. 

The shelter is expected to close by June 30, but Breaton says they're working to ensure the women currently staying at the shelter have a place to go.

"We need to have a date to work towards so we can help to support the women we serve with really intensive care management so that they have a safe space to land," Breaton explained. 

"So we're going to be working very closely with our community partners and the women we serve to develop individualized care plans for each woman to ensure they're safely transitioned."

Breaton says the property is set to go up for sale in the coming weeks, but a plan for a new shelter is on the horizon.

"We think we're going to come forward with something called a 'scattered site model'," she explained. "Instead of one large 66-bed shelter, two or three smaller 30-bed shelters that are really designed around the needs of what clients in our community have said they want."

According to Breaton, collaborative efforts have been underway for this future project for roughly a year.

The goal is to have the new shelter also located in the downtown Kitchener area but organizers say they're exploring any and all options. 

"We're always going to need access to an emergency, low-barrier shelter but women also need space to transition out of that shelter as soon as possible. So we are actively exploring lots of different options in terms of location," she said.