Homelessness – TWC Interactive

How an Inhospitable Labour Market Increases Homelessness

Joe Mancini September 1, 2025

Canadians are asking why the number of unhoused people has grown steadily over the past ten years. In Waterloo Region alone, there are over 2371 people are unhoused.

It is widely agreed that the homelessness crisis is the result of poor housing planning. The supply of housing has not kept up with demand, causing rising housing prices. At the same time, housing became coveted as a commodity, which has added to inflated housing costs.

Stories of Determined Hope

The Working Centre September 1, 2025

A young man in his early 30’s repeatedly visited the Emergency Department – 1800 times in three years. He appeared to be shelter seeking, but in reality had an untreated/undiagnosed mental health issue. Our team advocated for a longer term mental health admission and visited him in hospital every day, building trust and offering support for his wound care and mental health. He was discharged to King Street Shelter and when that shelter closed, we helped support him to interim housing.

Closing King Street Shelter

Stephanie Mancini March 1, 2025

We are now one and half months from the closing of King Street Shelter. King Street Shelter has come out of a line of innovative and highly responsive approaches The Working Centre has brought to the dramatic increase in homelessness, combined with the opioid drug crisis. We have created a place of belonging where people come together in a congregate setting to share living every day.

Specialized Outreach Services

The Working Centre March 1, 2025

Our Specialized Outreach Services (SOS) is a mobile multidisciplinary team that supports individuals who are experiencing homelessness or are precariously housed and who are experiencing medical, mental health and/or substance use concerns. SOS is designed to provide low barrier clinical care to individuals who may have difficultly accessing other traditional supports. The SOS team is comprised of social workers, nurses and outreach workers who work alongside physicians, nurse practitioners, hospitals, police, and the court/probation system.

Harden Not Our Hearts

Stephanie Mancini December 1, 2024

Driving through rural Ontario, it is not unusual to see signs with Christian messages surrounded by colourful leaves at this time of year. I was struck recently by one sign that read, “Harden not your heart”. As we were driving by this sign, we were also receiving updates from our shelter team that there were four overdoses happening at the same time.

Searching for Wholeness

Joe Mancini September 20, 2024

All around us, we have seen higher levels of anger expressed in political and social environments. You see this in relation to politics, you see it in the eyes of enraged drivers, and we have seen it in our community as people reconcile the realities of more and more people experiencing homelessness and drug addiction, especially around shelters and spaces that support people most at risk.

Change Over Time

Stephanie Mancini September 20, 2024

We are starting to get ready for the Point in Time (PiT) count, which is a national coordinated effort to take a snapshot of how many people are experiencing homelessness in one night. It is important to recognize the many ways that homelessness is increasing in our communities, especially for people just trying to cope as best they can. Encampments demonstrate that we no longer have an effective social structure response to homelessness.

Voices from Tent City

Zack Mason March 1, 2024

Our homelessness crisis is a symptom of a sick, disconnected community. I believe that communities are built, both on the stories they tell, and the ones they refuse to tell. When we know one another, we become closer to each other, we inspire empathy, we inspire action.

Warming Centre at 87 Victoria N Offers Support to the Unsheltered

The Working Centre March 1, 2024

This winter, outreach workers have estimated that more than 150 people are homeless without a place to live. This means that daily shelter for this group is a constant battle for survival. Sometimes they will get a place at an emergency shelter when there is an opening, other times they stay with a friend, other times they gather in a room where others are squatting or winter camping.

The Drug Epidemic and the Social Housing Challenge

Joe Mancini December 1, 2023

All shelter spaces are full. The 230 shelter beds that the Working Centre has established in the last three years have helped to double the Region’s shelter capacity, but there are still 200 people camping and without access to shelter. There is little movement of people in our shelters as housing costs are beyond any social assistance cheque. Underneath the despair of reduced housing options is a burgeoning drug problem.

Tag: Homelessness