‘I don’t think they planned this accordingly’: Neighbours respond to proposal to extend shelter services at Boyle Community Centre

Residents near a community centre are worried about the influx of homeless people amid a proposal to extend winter shelter services. Bryan Bicknell reports.

As another cold winter night falls on the Forest City, residents of one Old East Village neighbourhood get set for what one neighbour calls a “convoy” of those seeking refuge from the harsh elements.

“It starts about six o’clock at night, the convoy. Then around seven or eight o’ clock in the morning everyone disperses. So, they’ve got their smokes and whatever they’re doing,” explained resident Darcy DeCaluwe.

DeCaluwe lives just a stone’s throw from Boyle Community Centre. During extreme cold, the centre becomes a temporary shelter for up to 60 people.

He said it also attracts emergency services through the night.

“I’m up early in the morning and I see what’s going on down here. Like, there’s firetrucks, and police, and ambulances,” DeCaluwe explained.

Currently, the city opens the centre to homeless Londoners when the temperature drops to minus 15 C with a windchill of minus 20.

A council committee is recommending adjusting the policy to minus 15 C, or a windchill of minus 20 – using a single criterion instead of both.

This week, councillors learned the proposed change could triple the number of nights the emergency shelter is open each winter, from about 10 to 30.

Jon Paul McGonigle, director of Recreation and Sport to council’s Community and Protective Services Committee, said adding 20 extra nights per winter is estimated to come at a cost to taxpayers of about $290,000.

Many neighbours around Boyle Community Centre believe it’s the right thing to do.

“That’s what a community centre’s for, it’s for the community. So, if we have people that are in need of that when it is really cold, then why wouldn’t we want to use that for that purpose?” wondered Rebecca Williams.

“As long as it’s well supervised, I don’t think there’s a problem. These people need to get warm. It’s crazy, the situation that we’re in, but that’s the times I guess,” added Ray McNeill.

City council votes on the recommendations for the enhanced extreme cold weather response on Tuesday.

“I totally understand why they’re doing it, but the problem is I don’t think they planned it accordingly, knowing what we’re dealing with. I mean, the city was probably hoping it was never going to get this cold, right,” said DeCaluwe.