Windsor opens temporary warming centre as shelters struggle amid COVID-19 outbreaks

City of Windsor staff have opened a new, temporary daytime centre for people experiencing homelessness as area shelters experience COVID-19 outbreaks.

Over the last two weeks, roughly 25 of the 40 staff and volunteers at the Downtown Mission, mostly within the dining hall, tested positive for COVID-19, according to Mission interim executive director Rukshini Ponniah-Goulin.

Due to those shortages, and in order to be able to keep overnight beds open and staffed during the winter, the Mission was forced to cut down on meals and only serve "unhoused guests."

Physical distancing requirements prompted by COVID-19 have meant the Downtown Mission had already reduced overnight beds to 80 from 103 at the beginning of the pandemic. Having fewer beds highlights the importance of keeping what they do have open, said Ponniah-Goulin.

"The majority of the people who are coming to us we are able to provide a bed for at night, but there are some individuals we have to turn away," said Ponniah-Goulin, who added that this has been happening for the last four months.

"It's sad but unfortunately we do have that capacity issue ... we're doing what we can," she said.

Downtown aquatic centre used as homeless centre until Sunday

The Windsor International Aquatic and Training Centre opened last week as a place for people to keep warm if they don't have anywhere else to go, but only until Sunday. The city's goal is to assist shelters currently experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks that don't have the staff or capacity right now.

The Salvation Army Centre of Hope and Welcome Centre Shelter for Women and Families have also experienced COVID-19 outbreaks among staff and people who use their services.

Some staff at the Downtown Mission have already started to return to work after a 10-day quarantine, Ponniah-Goulin said. However, it's not enough to restore programs to pre-outbreak levels.

"We can't afford to reduce that any further because we need those shelter beds in the city to provide shelter for anyone who is on the street or not having a place to stay at night," said Ponniah-Goulin.

St. Clair College staff assist Mission in providing meals

St. Clair College employees have stepped in to provide meals to those who are homeless while Mission staff continue to isolate.

"This pandemic won't be over until it is over; and until that day comes, St. Clair will be hand-in-hand with the community to address the difficulties created by COVID," St. Clair College president Patti France said in a news release.

City's isolation centre is full

The City of Windsor continues to operate a COVID isolation and recovery centre at a local hotel for people experiencing homelessness.

There's 34 beds at the centre and over the last few weeks it's been "pretty much at capacity," according to Jennifer Tanner, the city's manager of homelessness and housing support.

Fortunately, she said, they haven't exceeded capacity or been in a position where they were too full to provide space for more people at the isolation centre. Those who have symptoms or test positive for COVID-19 are required to be there at five days, but then must wait another five days before being allowed to return to a congregate living setting, such as a shelter.

"So in some situations we'll step people down to another hotel for that second five days, so we'll free up some isolation space. We try to be very flexible and nimble," said Tanner.