The County wants to proceed with warming centres in the area.
The Community and Human Services Committee for Hastings County wants Council to finalize strategies for warming centres for the 2021-2022 season. These include centres in the cities of Belleville and Quinte West. The County says these centres will be funded entirely through the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
In their report, the Committee says that a few community groups have been in touch with County staff about what needs to be done in order to have a warming centre in Bancroft. However, no location or the number of resources needed has been decided on.
In the winter of 2019-2020, St. Paul’s United Church served as one of those centres. However, the church halted the operation of the centre, saying that dealing with the problem of homelessness was beyond their scope.
Mayor Paul Jenkins said earlier this year that the Town would need additional funds and space in order to implement such a warming centre in the future.