A new overnight drop-in centre, where people living outside can warm up, is opening Monday night (January 16) at Trinity United Church in Peterborough.

Supported by a coalition of community agencies without any municipal funding, the Stop-Gap Drop-in Centre at 360 Reid Street will run from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. until the end of April.

The centre is being operated by One City Peterborough, which ran a similar drop-in centre last winter in The Bridge Youth Centre, with the support of the United Way Peterborough and District, Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough, Fourcast, Canadian Mental Health Association of Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge, John Howard Society of Peterborough, Elizabeth Fry Society of Peterborough, and Research for Social Change Lab (Trent University).

In an interview Monday morning with CBC Radio Ontario Morning host Ramraajh Sharvendiran, United Way CEO Jim Russell said the overnight drop-in centre is intended for unhoused people who are unable to access the city’s shelter system. For every shelter bed that exists, according to Russell, there are three people who are unhoused.

“There’s a number of reasons people can’t access the shelter system,” Russell said. “They could be banned, they could have pets, they may not feel safe.”

The centre has opened despite a December decision by Peterborough city council not to provide $100,000 for the operation of the centre, which the coalition had proposed as an emergency winter response to the city’s homelessness crisis.

“There was a handful of agencies that were able to find budgets — unspent budget lines — and cobbled together some dollars to make sure we could open some doors this year,” Russell explained. “We had to come together because we weren’t willing to take the chance that people would die this winter, and so people felt the necessity to do that in the absence of a city response.”

As for city councillors who have claimed there are sufficient beds in Peterborough’s shelter system for the number of unhoused people in Peterborough, Russell explained there is a difference between shifts in homelessness and individual people who are unhoused.

“It’s disingenuous to say that people are simply choosing not to come inside,” Russell said. “What happens is you may have one person that’s moved six or seven or eight or 10 times in and out of transitional housing, or in and out of permanent housing … and so when they say ‘We’ve housed 300 people,’ (they) haven’t. The city has shifted people — had shifts from homelessness to being housed — but that’s not necessarily 300 individuals. It could be 50 individuals cycled in and out six different times.”

Russell noted the ability of the coalition of agencies to “pull this together in a matter of weeks, not months,” hiring and training 20 people and securing a space for the drop-in centre, will serve as an example for how the city can react more proactively to the homelessness crisis.

“That’s the thing we hope for the most — that this engenders a sense of urgency (at) the city,” Russell said. “Homelessness is deepening; we know that from our own research. The city (says) the number of people that are moving into being homeless for more than six months is increasing.”

“That’s troublesome because the longer people are unhoused, the harder it is to get people a safe place to live. So my hope is that it engenders a sense of urgency and that we work together: the municipality and agencies that are front-facing and serving people that are unhoused.”

The Stop-Gap Drop-in Centre is located at Trinity United Church at 360 Reid Street in Peterborough (enter through the church’s Simcoe Street entrance). It will run from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. daily from January 16 to April 30. The phone number for the drop-in centre is 705-313-4714. For more information, call 705-313-9856.

Peterborough police are investigating after a dog became ill Saturday (January 14) after ingesting illicit drugs while on the property of Monsignor O’Donoghue Catholic School.

Police were notified by the dog’s owner that the dog ate something while they were on the school’s property at 2400 Marsdale Drive and subsequently became ill.

Further investigation determined the dog had ingested a substance containing illicit drugs. The dog is now recovering.

A search of the property by officers and police service dog Isaac, a drug detection specialist, did not reveal any more items or suspicious substances. 

The Peterborough Victoria Northumberland Clarington Catholic District School Board has been made aware of the incident and is working with police to ensure the safety of the property. 

Residents are urged to report any suspicious activity or incidents in their neighbourhoods. Anyone with information specific to this incident is asked to contact Peterborough police at 705-876-1122 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at stopcrimehere.ca.

Otonabee Conservation was joined by partners and supporters to celebrate the completion of the Jackson Creek Trail revitalization project at a ribbon-cutting event on Saturday (January 14) at the trail’s eastern trailhead near the cement bridge in Peterborough’s Jackson Park.

More than 60 people attending the celebration, including delegates from Curve Lake First Nation and federal and municipal governments, community members, local interest groups, and project engineers and contractors.

The event featured the unveiling of new trailhead signs, educational signs that were developed in partnership with the Curve Lake First Nation Cultural Centre, and accessible wayfinding signs to allow more visitors to safely access the trail. Community members, supporters, and donors also participated in a birdwatching hike led by the Peterborough Field Naturalists.

Along with the addition of signage, the Jackson Creek Trail revitalization project addressed points of erosion along the trail, installed culverts, regraded slopes, enhanced bridges and railings, and resurfaced the length of the trail, and added benches.

This project was primarily funded with a $523,917 investment from the Government of Canada’s Canada Community Revitalization Fund, administered by the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario).

“This project will bring more Canadians outdoors to experience the trail whether through walking, hiking, or cycling,” said Filomena Tassi, the federal minister responsible for FedDev Ontario, in a message.

“On top of that, it will also increase environmental and historical awareness of the area, help nearby neighbourhoods thrive, and increase local business sales,” Tassi said. “Projects like these are exactly the ones we love to see as they are a win-win for our communities.”

In addition to the FedDev Ontario investment, Trans Canada Trail provided $61,500 and community members donated over $60,000 through Otonabee Conservation’s Your Metres Matter and Close the Gap fundraising campaigns over the past two years.

“We are grateful to our funders who have made this project possible and we are especially humbled by the response from the community, who has come together to support the revitalization of the beloved Jackson Creek Trail,” said Otonabee Conservation’s CAO and secretary-treasurer Janette Loveys Smith.

“The community has raised over $60,000 in the past two years to help resurface the trail and to ensure benches, educational signs, trail markers, and accessible wayfinding signs could be added along the length of the trail,” Loveys Smith added.

Otonabee Conservation is looking to raise another $10,000 to complete the final aspects of the project through the Close the Gap fundraising campaign.

For more information and to make a donation, visit otonabeeconservation.com/connect-with-us/make-a-donation.

For the second year in a row, a group of Peterborough-area cross-country skiers will be hitting the trails to raise funds for mental health.

Presented by Wild Rock Outfitters and Kawartha Nordic Ski Club, the 8-Hour Ski Relay for Mental Health takes place on Sunday, January 22nd at the Kawartha Nordic Ski Club, located off Highway 28 just north of Haultain in North Kawartha Township, with opening ceremonies at 10 a.m. and skiing continuing until 6 p.m.

The event will raise funds for the Garden Homes Project of the Canadian Mental Health Association Halliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (CMHA HKRP). Through the association’s supportive housing program, the new project aims to provide affordable small homes for vulnerable people in the Peterborough area at risk of homelessness.

“Much of our community has been challenged with access to affordable housing,” says CMHA HKRP chief executive officer Mark Graham in a media release. “Through the support of this fundraiser, we hope to develop creative solutions to a highly complex issue in our region. With low vacancy rates and many people facing homelessness, this initiative is needed now more than ever.”

Skiers of all ages and abilities are encouraged to participate in this fun recreational event; there is no requirement to ski for the full eight hours. To register as an individual or as a team, or to donate, visit canadahelps.org.

With three loop options that cross paths with the rustic warming cabins at Kawartha Nordic Ski Club, skiers will be able to take a break during the relay. Peterborough’s Ashburnham Ale House will be providing chili to all registered skiers (you need to bring your own mug and spoon from home to receive a serving).

The event, which aims to raise $15,000 for the CMHA HKRP Garden Homes Project, is being organized by Wild Rock staff member and Kawartha Nordic board member John Hauser.

“As a worker in Peterborough’s downtown, I walk from my home in East City on my commute to work and have seen the struggles of people experiencing homelessness,” Hauser says. “The Garden Homes Project will be a step forward in addressing the housing crisis in the area. The relay seemed to be a great way to bring community together to raise funds for this much-needed cause.”

Hauser also organized last February’s 24 Hour Ski Marathon for Mental Health, after losing a cousin to suicide during the pandemic and feeling the toll of the pandemic on his own mental health.

For updates on the 8-Hour Ski Relay for Mental Health, visit @knsc_8_hour_relay on Instagram. For more information on the relay, email Hauser at johnh@wildrock.net.

The Women’s Business Network of Peterborough (WBN) has donated $14,816.97 to the YWCA Peterborough Haliburton in support of the YWCA Crossroads Shelter for women and children fleeing violence and abuse.

WBN president Diane Wolf along with program directors Tracy Minnema and Sandra Wilkins presented a cheque to Ria Nicholson, lead philanthropic advisor with YWCA Peterborough Haliburton, on Wednesday (January 11).

The funds were raised in December at WBN’s annual holiday gala, where members of the networking organization have come together for more than 30 years to support the YWCA Crossroads Shelter. For the second year in a row, people from the community were also able to add to the fundraising by participating in an online auction.

“Being able to partner with the YWCA on this initiative year after year is an integral part of our commitment to supporting women,” says Wolf in a media release. “We are so thankful for our members, volunteers, and everyone who donated an auction item to help us provide 229 safe nights for our sisters in the community. Once again, many small businesses in our community stepped up to support this cause despite the challenges they have faced the past few years.”

WBN’s donation supports the YWCA’s Safe Nights Program at Crossroads Shelter, which provides emergency shelter, meals, counselling and personal care supplies for women and children.

One safe night at YWCA Crossroads Shelter costs $64.65, beyond what government funding provides, and includes everything from the physical safety of a private room and 24-hour support, to nutritious meals, linens, clothing, and personal care items.

“The Women’s Business Network is such an important organization in our community,” says YWCA Peterborough Haliburton executive director Kim Dolan. “The strong support amongst members extends beyond their meetings to impact so many other women in the Peterborough area. The proceeds of the December 2022 WBN Holiday Gala send a strong message to women in our region who experience gender-based violence — you are seen, you matter, you are not alone. On behalf of YWCA Peterborough Haliburton and the women we serve, thank you.”

According to the Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses, 52 women in Ontario were killed between November 2021 and November 2022 as a result of violence by an intimate partner or family member. Violence against women had also intensified throughout the pandemic, because of factors including increased isolation and lack of available services and with abusers’ tactics becoming more violent and complex.

On any one night, more than 6,000 Canadian women and children sleep in shelters because they are not safe at home.

After more than a decade of planning, the Peterborough Humane Society has moved into its new state-of-the-art animal care centre at 1999 Technology Drive in southeast Peterborough, closing the current 65-year-old facility at 385 Lansdowne Street East effective Saturday (January 14).

Major construction is complete on the new 24,000-square-foot animal care centre, which will house the Peterborough Humane Society’s shelter and adoption and education centre, a regional high-volume spay and neuter clinic to provide affordable spay and neuter services and prevent pet overpopulation, and the Ontario SPCA’s provincial dog rehabilitation centre — the first of its kind in Canada.

Designed by Peterborough-based Lett Architects with construction led by Peak Construction, the new facility — which is four times the size of the Lansdowne Street East building — will also include an aqua therapy pool and underwater treadmill for dog rehabilitation, a family living room to help dogs acclimatize to living in a home environment, and both indoor and outdoor off-leash areas.

Minimal construction and external work at the new $10-million building will continue for a while after the Peterborough Humane Society moves in. It will take several days for the society to relocate to the new facility, which involves moving more than 100 animals as well as 30 staff and preparing the spay and neuter clinic. Along with volunteers and staff, local businesses Auto Connect and McWilliams Moving and Storage are assisting with the move.

A soft opening is expected in mid-February, with a grand opening event planned for the spring.

After the Lansdowne Street East shelter closes on January 14, animal control officers can still be reached at 705-745-7676 ext 656 to handle any animal inquiries (leave a message). Donations can be delivered to the new animal care centre at 1999 Technology Drive, with the “Intakes” entrance located around the back of the new building.

VIDEO: Peterborough Animal Care Centre (December 2022)

The Peterborough Human Society’s current 6,200-square-foot building at 385 Lansdowne Street East was originally built in 1956 as a dog pound. It can no longer support the demands of caring for around 2,000 lost, injured, abandoned, and abused animals that come through the doors annually. In the new facility, animals will have more room and experience less noise and stress, thereby reducing anxiety and giving them a better chance to connect with their adoptive families.

Over 80 per cent of the cost of the new facility has been covered, including $1.68 million in funding from the City of Peterborough, $2 million from Ontario SPCA, $260,000 from PetSmart Charities of Canada, and $50,000 from Community Futures Peterborough. with the remainder made up of donations from businesses, families, and individuals.

Online donations can be made at www.ourpetproject.ca/donate/.