Peer support agency in Thunder Bay, Ont., readies for relocation, new supportive housing

A peer support agency in Thunder Bay, Ont., is relocating its drop-in centre, as it expands its services to include supportive housing on the south side of town.

People Advocating for Change Through Empowerment (PACE), located at 510 Victoria Avenue E., is a central location for some of the city's most vulnerable. There, they can get food and free clothing, do their laundry, take a shower and connect with others in a safe environment.

The organization has recently become involved in the province's new Homeless and Addiction Recovery Treatment Hub (HART) program, following the closure of the region's only supervised consumption site, Path 525, at the end of March.

"We love this space. However, to make it work better with the new initiatives coming up by the government and for the initiatives going on in this business area, like the [Victoriaville] mall coming down, our people need a place to go," said Georgina McKinnon, PACE's executive director.

In the coming weeks, PACE will relocate to 409 George St., directly across from Shelter House, remaining in the neighbourhood it's been serving for years.

With the new space comes room for a dozen new supportive housing units, which McKinnon hopes become part of a continuum of care for people recovering from addiction, she said.

"We're hoping to be one of the last steps, that people come out of recovery, go into more heavily-supported housing, down to lightly-supported housing," McKinnon explained. "We can help them out downstairs in PACE before they get out into the world on their own." 

The Thunder Bay district continues to have the highest opioid-related death rate in Ontario, at nearly five times the provincial average.

NorWest Community Health Centres, which operated Path 525, is the lead partner for Thunder Bay's HART Hub.

Unlike supervised consumption sites, HART Hubs do not allow supervised drug consumption, safer supply or needle exchange programs. According to the province, they instead focus on providing primary care, employment support, and mental health, addiction and social services — much of which PACE already offers.

"I'm so excited," McKinnon said of the upcoming move. "PACE is expanding in so many ways, it's amazing."

'They help me with all of it'

Everyone who works at PACE has lived experience of the challenges their clients are going through, such as homelessness, addictions and mental health issues.

David Baumgartner is a long-time client at PACE who started coming there when he was staying at an overnight shelter.

"It kind of became like my second home. I'm here often, pretty much every day, for everything from just talking to people to eating to getting clothes, whatever," he said. "They help me with all of it."

He said it's important for the city to support places like PACE, which are open to everyone.

"Even though I have an apartment, I still come here to eat. I come here to get out of the house; it gets depressing sitting in there all the time," Baumgartner said.

"It kind of became like my second home."- David Baumgartner, client at PACE

"It's really important to have a space like this, where people can feel safe."

McKinnon said PACE is planning a seamless transition to its new space to avoid any disruption in services. A moving company is expected to start bringing things over from the Victoria Avenue East location in mid-July.

Renovations have already started at the George Street building, she said.

Her hope is that as PACE expands its presence in the region, more people gain a better understanding of the clients it serves.

"Once you get to know the people that come to PACE, you get a whole different idea of them. They're wonderful people that really want to give back to the community," McKinnon said.

As temperatures begin to rise, she said PACE is most in need of donations of seasonal clothing — especially for men — as well as shoes, kitchen and household items and fans.