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Saint Lawrence Centre in need of funds to extend hours

Apr 9, 2018 | 5:30 AM

The Saint Lawrence Centre for the homeless is in need of $25,000 to extend its hours. It wants to go from two days a week to full-time this summer.
 
Project Lead Jared Gossen says that funds have dried up which can be partially blamed on the cold weather this past winter.
 
“In the spring every year, we do scale back our hours. With the weather being what it was and being as busy as we were this winter we are only able to open two days a week in spring and summer.”
 
The Centre, which opened in 2015, usually hosts around 30 people per day but this year that number has jumped closer to 50. The frigid weather this winter has played a big part in that as people were seeking shelter more and more.
 
Gossen adds the Centre, the purpose is to provide people experiencing homelessness a chance to find housing and support year-round.
 
“We have spent a lot more on staffing this past six or seven months just because of the high influx of demand.”
 
He adds the opioid crisis and increases in the City’s homeless population hasn’t helped matters and that has also put on a strain on staff to provide support for people.

“The Centre gets a ton of help to stay functional from the community. We are in a really awesome spot. Rotary House helps us as we live there rent-free basically. The overhead that the organization has is just looking after wages. WIthout our community partners, we wouldn’t be open at all,” adds Gossen.

The Centre received a $16,000 donation from New-Horizon Co-operative and is hoping to obtain the remaining cash within the coming weeks. It operated on a $145,000 budget last year with 83 percent of it coming from the community.  Donations can be made in person or online.