People at Kitchener homeless encampment can now use washrooms at St. John's Kitchen
Security guards to provide supervised access to washrooms outside of building's regular hours
People staying at a homeless encampment on Victoria Street in Kitchener now have overnight and weekend access to washrooms at The Working Centre's St. John's Kitchen, which is located across the street.
After a push from local advocates and impacted residents, the region agreed in April to cover the costs of keeping nearby washroom and hygiene facilities open 24/7 for people to use.
Two security guards will be on site to provide supervised access to the washrooms outside of St. John's Kitchen's regular business hours, the region says.
Chris McEvoy, manager of housing policy and homelessness prevention for the region, said in an email to CBC News that washrooms will be available for people at the encampment and others experiencing homelessness as well.
Washrooms will be available:
- When St. John's Kitchen is open 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
- After hours 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. Monday through Friday.
- All day and overnight on Saturday and Sunday, from 6 p.m. Friday through to 8 a.m. Monday.
The encampment, located on a vacant lot owned by the Region of Waterloo, has grown in the last month to more than 30 tents.
To support <a href="https://twitter.com/Workingcentre?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Workingcentre</a>’s request for security to provide supervised access to their washrooms outside of regular business hours, we arranged staffing through our contracted security partner.
—@RegionWaterloo