Northumberland County’s new warming centre in Cobourg has been open for two weeks now and has welcomed an average of 15 people nightly looking for a place to escape winter’s chill.
With the new space intended to serve as a warm place to rest, Northumberland County and the Town of Cobourg say they are working together to ensure people who drop into the room in the Northumberland County headquarters building at 555 Courthouse Road know the purpose of the centre.
Because the warming room is located in a government building not designed to include sleeping accommodations, provincial and local regulations — such as building code, fire code, and zoning — affect how the room can be used, the county noted in a media release on Friday (December 12).
“For this reason, the room is not set up for sleeping, but instead for rest, with tables and chairs available,” the county stated. “While visitors are no longer required to remain awake, staff do conduct regular wellness checks that can be disruptive to continuous sleep.”
The county and town are encouraging those seeking “meaningful rest” with designated sleeping facilities to inquire about accessing shelter services at Northumberland County’s homeless shelter, Transition House, which is located at 310 Division Street in Cobourg.
“Our priority in hosting the warming room is to offer a safe space where people can seek respite from the cold, ensuring the health, safety, and dignity of residents facing the harsh realities of homelessness,” said Brian Ostrander, warden of Northumberland County, in the release.
“While the warming room is necessarily set up as a drop-in warming space, we know how essential uninterrupted sleep is for physical and mental well-being. Staff encourage visitors seeking this type of service to check availability at (Transition House).”
According to the county, 50 people have accessed the warming room since it opened on November 27.
kawarthaNOW reached out to the county for comments about expectations related to occupancy and other details, but a spokesperson was not available prior to deadline.
In the release, Northumberland County and the Town of Cobourg say they will continue to work closely to ensure the safety and well-being of visitors who rely on the space.
“Our approach has always been ensuring that the warming room operates safely, responsibly, and in the best interests of the people who depend on it, as well as the surrounding community,” said Town of Cobourg Mayor Lucas Cleveland.
Located in committee room A at the Northumberland County headquarters building, the space operates nightly from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. daily until March 31. In addition to providing a warm indoor location for people experiencing homelessness, the centre provides access to washrooms, seating, and light refreshments.
The reason for the temporary warming room goes back to earlier this year, when county council directed staff to close the low-barrier warming room on the lower level of the 310 Division Street shelter and explore other locations outside of Cobourg to establish a new space.
The decision to close the shelter’s warming room followed seven months of complaints from neighbouring residents and businesses after the shelter, which is owned by Northumberland County and operated by Transition House, opened in December 2024.
Over the summer, county staff toured and considered eight possible warming room locations, six of which were outside of Cobourg (including three churches and three municipal sites) and two of which were within Cobourg (including two municipal sites owned by Northumberland County).
In early October, council directed staff to explore the potential of a warming room at four of those locations: county headquarters at 555 Courthouse Road, the county building at 600 William Street, the Ontario Agri-Food Venture Centre at 216 Purdy Road in Colborne, and Fenella Hall at 8071 County Road 45 in Roseneath.
Later in the month, at its October 28 meeting, county council reviewed a staff report describing the operational considerations, outcomes and impacts, and financial implications of each location, with council ultimately deciding on the Courthouse Road location.
