New cooling centre in Sudbury opens for homeless people July 1

Sudbury -

Daytime and overnight warming centre services for the vulnerable at the YMCA will close Thursday, as the Y transitions back to core programming and services.

To replace those services, a new drop-in daytime cooling centre will open at 199 Larch St. the same day.

The Sudbury Action Centre for Youth (SACY) is the service provider. The city is providing funding to operate until the end of August.

"This is to help fill the gap that is being left when the YMCA closes on the 31st," said Julie Gorman, the executive director of the Sudbury Action Centre for Youth.

"We will be allowing up to 35, maybe more, individuals to get cool, have snacks, connect with local resources and ensuring that they are not being left behind."

Gorman said there will be harm reduction education and supplies on site.

"As we know, there (are) a lot of concurrent disorders within our community right now, a lot of people with mental health and harm reductions or substance abuse issues, and that is exceptionally prevalent in the homeless population," she said.

Gorman said housing case managers from the Homelessness Network will also be on site.

"There is a lack of affordable housing in our community for individuals, lack of transitional housing, lack of supportive housing," she said. "So our goal really is to support these individuals to seek and find what is available and what they can afford so that we aren't stuck with individuals who are tenting on the streets in order to survive."

Unlike the daytime and nighttime services offered at the Y, the new cooling drop in centre at 199 Larch will operate from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week. Gorman said overnight shelters open at 8 p.m., while some operate 24-7.

One homeless man we talked to, who did not want to appear on camera, is relieved the daytime services are opening on Thursday.

He does not like sleeping in shelters and questions where he will access washroom facilities during the gap when the centre is closed.