Shelter House hopes a program to get the city's homeless out of the cold will start next month.
Street Outreach Services started as a pilot program that ended up helping more than 1,000 survive last year. Last week the District of Thunder Bay Social Services Administration Board agreed to kick in $50,000 of the $200,000 needed to run the program again this winter. City council will be asked for $50,000 Monday night.
"Ideally we would have had this all organized and been able to start earlier in the season," Shelter House executive director Patty Hajdu said.
"The later we start the harder it is for everybody."
But Hajdu is confident that council will come through and the program can start Dec.1. For 12 hours every day a two-person mobile service responds to non-violent calls and tries to transfer those people to places like Shelter House, Salvation Army or detox if needed.
Hajdu said that requires the best workers Shelter House has. The organization has to hire new people to fill other jobs at the shelter and leaves the organization playing catch-up during its busiest season.
