A daytime warming centre will be in place in time for the first extreme cold weather event, according to a District of Nipissing Social Services Administration Board staff report delivered during Wednesday's DNSSAB Board of Directors meeting.
The plan is for the warming centre to be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., from Nov. 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024, with options available for April 2024, depending upon the temperature. The space is located at 579 Fraser St. in the block of Fraser between First Avenue West and Worthington Street West.
The 2023-24 warming centre will require some retrofitting before it is completely ready for this winter's operations, according to Stacey Cyopeck, the director of housing for DNSSAB. A bathroom will be added to increase the capacity to 49 individuals — without the retrofit, the permitted capacity would dip to less than 25 people.
See related: Homeless see extended services during extreme cold weather
Board Chair Mark King, also a North Bay city councillor, observed, "We could see the difficulty that staff went through trying to secure a location in the city. That speaks to the ongoing process that I think we're going to move to with respect to a central hub and how that may work."
In August, the City of North Bay bought a Cassells Street property neighbouring the Gathering Place and has released little information on its vision for the space except to say it planned to "collaborate with various community partners to develop a business case for the effective use of the property. We will be better positioned to share more information once the business case has been completed."
The City of North Bay sees the purchase as " a strategic acquisition," and part of its "strategy to address community safety and well-being priorities."
"It's fantastic that this year ... people pulled together and we're not scrambling at the last minute," noted Coun. Lana Mitchell, the Board's vice-chair. "A lot of time and effort went into this. I think if we learned something from last year — and I think we all did — the cold weather alerts, we have to have a better handle on that, and the community needs to be a better part of that process as well."
See: Extreme cold prompts city bus terminal to stay open overnight
At different points in 2022-23, warming spaces were made available at the low-barrier shelter on Chippewa Street West, the Gathering Place on Cassells Street, and the North Bay Transit Terminal on Oak Street West. Overnight shelter spaces were offered at the low-barrier shelter the Crisis Centre Four Elms, and in instances of overflow, those seeking shelter were placed in hotel rooms.