It is not exactly a Christmas miracle, but the Royal City Mission in Guelph will be able to keep the doors to their daytime drop-in program open throughout the winter months.
City council passed a motion to fund the program, which will allow the mission to extend their daytime services to March 31, 2024. The $63,966 will be taken from the Tax Rate Operating Contingency Reserve.
“It is a stop-gap measure, temporary for this winter,” said Coun. Rodrigo Goller who moved the motion at Tuesday’s Council meeting. “Our hope is to have a better plan for next year.”
That plan could come from a housing symposium that is being hosted by the County of Wellington in January.
The decision was a relief for the Royal City Mission who may have had to cut hours in service if they were not able to secure funding from the city.
“We’re very thankful that the city recognized and help keep us open,” said Kevin Coghill, executive director of the Royal City Mission who is looking to keep the program operating 12 hours a day, six days a week. “The funding does allow us to be open about four hours a day. We don’t have all of the other hours covered yet but we are working on that.”
The drop-in program provides shelter and meals for those who don’t have a place to stay.
Coghill was at the meeting to make a delegation after a staff report was delivered to council. The report suggested that the city take no further action on what was initially a pilot project, to support the Mission’s daytime drop-in services.
He stressed to Council the importance of keeping the drop-in service, which he said has 250 people using the program and has also served 2,000 meals a week, and asked Council to continue with the pilot project.
Even if Royal City Mission is not able to secure funding to cover the remaining hours of the program, Coghill said they will try their best with what they have.
“The Royal City Mission is committed to being open as long as we can, as many hours as we can during the day,” Coghill said. “We don’t have a lot of reserve funds, we have a small amount. And so we’ll do the best way can.”
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