What is happening at Knox
Out of The Cold
written by
Christian Collington/Metroland
The link to the inside Halton article
With just one overnight community warming centre in Halton, and two regional shelters operating above capacity, local advocates say more spaces are needed to fill a significant gap.
Steve Boose, minister at Georgetown’s Knox Presbyterian and executive director of the church’s Out of the Cold Georgetown, said the program had opened 101 nights in a row as of Feb. 24.
“There really is a tremendous need for such spaces and for expansion of the actual homeless shelter system. We are a Band-Aid and we know it,” Boose said.
He said Out of the Cold Georgetown is a volunteer-run winter refuge started in 2022, with an expected maximum of six people a night. That first winter, the program never reached six people in a night.
This winter, Out of the Cold reached a high of 11 people one night.
Boose said there have been two nights with 10 guests and one night with nine. The average number “is hovering just above six.”
He said 35 different people have used the program, including eight who have spent at least 21 nights there so far this year.
“We saw no marked increase during the extreme cold events, which surprised us,” Boose said.
He said Out of the Cold Georgetown volunteers have little training in working with unhoused individuals but are gaining experience.
“There is nowhere else in Halton Region that does what we do at Out of the Cold,” Boose said.
Halton Region declares cold warnings when a low of -15 Celsius without wind chill is predicted and when Environment Canada issues an extreme cold warning (temperature or wind chill reaches -30 C for two consecutive hours).
In 2026 the region has issued seven cold warnings compared to three last year. They usually last one or two days. One warning this year lasted six days.
When Halton issues a cold warning, individual municipalities provide local warming centres in municipal facilities during regular operating hours.
Halton’s municipalities, including Burlington, Halton Hills, Milton and Oakville, do not track how many people use their daytime warming centres.
Steven Barrow, a social planner at Community Development Halton, a non-profit organization promoting social well-being and community engagement, said daytime warming centres are being used by people experiencing homelessness.
“We have met many people in our research in the community who spend their days there,” Barrow said. He noted those spaces are only available during regular hours of municipal facilities, which leaves “a significant gap.”
“Overnight emergency warming spaces do not exist except for the Out of the Cold program in Georgetown,” Barrow stated in an email. “Without designated overnight warming centres that are known to the community, many people we know of spend their nights in their vehicles or outside.”
According to Halton Region data from 2024, there were “343 households experiencing homelessness.”
Barrow said that number is based on available data on a single day and doesn’t indicate the number of people experiencing homelessness throughout the year.
A Halton Region spokesperson said Halton’s shelters, provided by Wesley Urban Ministries and Salvation Army Lighthouse, operate at 140 per cent capacity — with all spaces full and additional people placed in hotels.
“This reflects the ongoing, chronic pressures on Halton’s homelessness response system,” the spokesperson said and added Halton Region is not aware of any overnight warming centres.
Community members can report encampments or people experiencing homelessness that may need support and Halton’s Street Outreach team will meet with the person, assess their needs and offer them access to emergency shelter.
“If shelters are full, Halton Region secures hotel placements to ensure no one seeking or accepting shelter is turned away,” the spokesperson said.
Staff did not provide by deadline the number of people placed in hotels so far this year.
A Wesley spokesperson said it offers a women and family shelter with a total of 60 rooms.
“All of these spaces are permanent, 24/7 emergency shelter spaces. They are not temporary, overnight-only warming spaces,” Wesley’s spokesperson said. People stay at the shelter, often for a few months, while staff help them find permanent housing.
A Salvation Army spokesperson said its Halton shelter has 40 beds for men.
“Throughout the year, the Halton Lighthouse operates over capacity each night, underscoring the ongoing need for co-ordinated community responses to homelessness,” the spokesperson said.
Out of the Cold at Knox Presbyterian Church Georgetown
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