When the Warming Centre decided not to renew its previous lease in a space that would allow only a maximum of eight beds, Executive Director Dennis Chippa began a search to find a place that would leave no one out in the cold.
"It suited the purposes when we were there three years ago because we were having five to six people a night… but as soon as we started to get to 12-15 people a night, it just became too hard to manage," said Chippa.
Stepping up and donating space in a former elementary school is local business man Jimmy Kolios
Nipissing District Social Services Board Chair Mark King says that Kolios was "certainly listening to the scenario and offered the school at no cost to the Warming Centre."
King says as far as logistics go, the school ticks off all the boxes needed to operate the centre.
"We need about 1,500 square feet, we need at least one washroom but preferably two, and we need it to have two entrances and an exit for our volunteers so they can feel a little bit safer," said Chippa.
But Chippa says one major issue with the school is that it's approximately a 50-minute walk from the city's core.
"How are these folks going to get there from where they are during the day?" asks Chippa.
However, King says transportation is an issue that can be worked around.
"There's obviously ways to get around it, so it may be as simple as volunteers providing transportation. But, I mean the biggest concern was to make something available because it gets pretty cold here," said King.
Chippa says there's no rush to seal a deal.
He adds that over the next six weeks, the Warming Centre and the Social Services Board will explore every option possible before a decision is made.
