The success of Hockey Helps the Homeless in Waterloo Region is driven by an incredible local committee—deeply passionate, generous with their time, and committed to this work. Their work and heavy lifting translates into supporting 6 local charity partners who collectively work hard to support those experiencing homelessness in our community.
Tonight, I would like to begin from somewhere a little unexpected, but very important to me, Africa. In many African communities, social capital is not just a concept, it is a way of life (Mbaya, 2011). It is the shared understanding that my wellbeing is tied to yours. Children are raised collectively. When someone is struggling, the community steps in. Belonging is assumed, not negotiated.
For over 20 years The Working Centre has been hosting Community Enterprise projects like Queen Street Commons Café, Recycle Cycles, Worth a Second Look Housewares and Furniture, and Computer Recycling to name a few. Community Enterprise projects are practical and productive examples of enterprise. They are active and working businesses that also focus on building community and inclusion.
On April 11th 2026, we welcomed over 800 guests to celebrate the 37th Annual Mayors’ Dinner on the theme of Places of Belonging – The Heart of Inclusion. Set in the warmly lit Bingemans’ Mashall Hall with colourful flowers, plants and displays decorated throughout the space, we gathered to join in community and share stories. Highlighted among us were three extraordinary individuals who encompass the values of the work they immerse themselves in daily: commitment to inclusion, resiliency during change, and offering a warm welcome to others.
Gathering in public spaces helps to build community and awareness of one another – in our similarities and our differences. The Mayors’ Dinner, now in its 37th year, is a public gathering that brings 900 people together annually, to celebrate commitment to the common good, to gather, and to support The Working Centre. At this year’s Mayors’ Dinner, we will highlight community endeavours that foster the habit of supporting public places.
It is an honour to stand before you tonight to reflect on the power of community and the meaningful connections we can build. This gathering is a testament to our shared commitment to creating a welcoming, inclusive, and vibrant Waterloo Region, where everyone feels they belong.
On May 15th, 2025, we had the pleasure of meeting with Fr. Greg Boyle who was in town to present a Lecture in Catholic Experience at St. Jerome’s University. The following is an excerpt from Fr. Greg’s talk
This Christmas season was a busy time. We received overflowing generosity as the community responded to ensure many meals were available through the Christmas season. During mid-December, Maurita’s Kitchen on Queen Street was extra busy as over 1000 pounds of turkey were cooked and prepared for serving. In the final days massive quantities of potatoes, vegetables and gravy were produced and made ready. Altogether about 800 Christmas meals were prepared and served at St. John’s Kitchen, King Street Shelter and the Erbs Road Shelter.
To celebrate the Christmas season, 800 Christmas meals were prepared at our commercial kitchen on Queen Street and were served at four different locations during the Christmas season. Chef Michael Bertling and volunteers cooked and chopped hundreds of pounds of turkey, potatoes, carrots and bread so that they could be served at four Christmas meals.
In June 2018, the Working Centre purchased the Water Street House with the intention of building a safe house for those homeless and dealing with acute medical and drug use issues. We had hoped that the house could also be the Safe Consumption Site as that would have combined resources together to ensure the house was viable. After a year of planning and ten months of construction the project has been completed.
The Integrated Circle of Care is a fluid and collaborative approach followed by workers from different agencies weaving through St. John’s Kitchen. Within this approach, staff members from each agency are aware of their specific personal roles. However, the high level of collaboration between workers means that people can approach any worker, without knowing their agency association or specific role, and still receive support – either that worker will support the person directly, or they will introduce the person to another worker who can support the person more appropriately.
This approach makes relationships more natural and support more accessible. Workers from different agencies are easily approachable, meaning that people build relationships with multiple workers. Having relationships with different workers is important to a person’s support – it makes support from a trusted source easy to find, and means that people have a choice of worker to approach in any given situation.
In order to maintain a circle of care around a person, workers from different agencies ask for consent from the person for information to be shared between workers. Continuous communication between workers helps to ensure that people do not fall into gaps between services, and also that services are not duplicated.
