North Bay's The Gathering Places faces uncertain future, scales back outreach services
North Bay’s soup kitchen, The Gathering Place, on Cassells Street fears it could have to close its doors later this year, as early as the fall.
The Gathering Place in North Bay in December 2021. (File photo/Eric Taschner/CTV News Northern Ontario)
Donations at Christmas significantly dropped compared to previous years and donations continue to drop as many people are feeling the pinch in their wallets.
As a donation-based charity, this trickle-down effect is seriously hurting the soup kitchen, according to its executive director.
“If this trend continues, we’re not sure we can stay open,” Dennis Chippa said.
This has forced the soup kitchen to significantly scale back its crucial services for people homeless or living on the cusp of homelessness in North Bay and its surrounding area.
The soup kitchen is cutting back on to-go meals. The outreach program is also now on pause. This means outreach staff have been reduced to part-time hours.
“You get to know these folks. You know them all and how difficult it is for them on a day-to-day basis and then you can’t provide that support you’ve been doing,” said Chippa.
"It’s a concern."
Chippa told CTV News that he fears closing the doors would put major pressure on area food banks and local church food banks.
In early November, the soup kitchen announced it was pausing its outreach service to West Nipissing due to a severe lack of funding and the loss of its outreach services kitchen used to cook food.
Staff would normally serve around 700 meals a week for that town's homeless and others who need a meal.
“There is no real core funding for an agency like ours,” Chippa said. “We don’t fit some of the niches that things like food banks would. We’re not part of Food Banks Canada because we’re not a food bank.”
The staff also run the city's warming centre during the winter months and when its doors were opened for meals, Chippa and the rest of the staff said they would normally see a reduction in clients - that didn’t happen this winter.
“Today for lunch we saw between 112-115 people. We used to see 90,” said Chippa.
“At dinner, we would see 110 or 115. Now we’re seeing between 130-140.”
Chippa said he fears that without donations to help stop the financial bleeding, the doors will close even sooner.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Loblaw leaders push back on 'misguided criticism' of grocer as boycott begins
Loblaw's new chief executive, as well as chairman Galen Weston, pushed back on what they called 'misguided criticism' of the grocer as a push to boycott the company gains steam online.
TD Bank hit with $9.2M penalty after failing to report suspicious transactions
Canada's financial intelligence agency says it has levied a $9.2-million penalty against The Toronto-Dominion Bank for non-compliance with money laundering and terrorist financing measures as the bank also faces compliance investigations in the U.S.
Orangutan observed treating wound using medicinal plant in world first
Scientists working in Indonesia have observed an orangutan intentionally treating a wound on their face with a medicinal plant, the first time this behavior has been documented.
This Canadian restaurant just lowered its prices. Here's how it did it
A Canadian restaurant lowered its prices this week, and though news of price tags dropping rather than climbing sounds unusual, the business strategy in this case is not, according to experts in the field.
There's a limit to how much interest rates in Canada and U.S. can diverge: Macklem
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says Canadian interest rates don't have to match U.S. or global rates, but there is a limit to how much they can diverge.
Prince William and Kate release photo of daughter Charlotte to mark ninth birthday
Prince William and his wife Kate released a picture of their daughter Charlotte to mark the princess's ninth birthday on Thursday.
Doctors concerned about potential spread of bird flu in Canada
H5N1 or avian flu has been detected at dozens of U.S. dairy farms and Canadian experts are urging surveillance on our side of the border too.
Airbnb's Icons allow you to drift off in the 'Up' house or rest in Prince's 'Purple Rain' mansion
The vacation destination rental company announced a new category of 'Icons,' a collection of 'extraordinary experiences hosted by the greatest names in music, film, television, art, sports, and more.'
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Goring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.