New service for homeless Listowel, Ont. residents opens

Listowel is a bustling, prosperous community, but more North Perth residents are homeless or on the brink of homelessness than ever before.

This is why the new HOPELinks connection centre in Listowel, is now open for business.

“If you are having trouble deciding between whether to buy milk or bread this week, or you’re going to do your laundry, we want to be there to help them with that,” says Gwyneth Woods, community and family services manager, with the North Perth Salvation Army.

With funding from the United Way of Perth-Huron, and a lot of in-kind renovations from the new owners of the former Listowel Anglican Church, HOPELinks is now available to Listowel and area’s less fortunate for a meal, a shower, a bathroom, a free laundromat, or just a place to feel safe.

“It’s a combination and attempt to help with those immediate needs, like a shower, and a meal, and laundry. But, also to really be there for people as an ally in moving forward, with them,” says Woods.

The United Way of Perth-Huron estimates there are more than 200 homeless people in the two counties, and those are just the ones they know of.

With similar Connection Centres, open in Stratford, Exeter, and now Listowel, there’s a recognition, that this perceived big city problem, is here to stay in small-town Ontario.

“As people come in, we want to build relationships with them. Figure out what is going on for them, and how we might be able to help them,” says Steph Siertsema, outreach coordinator with the North Perth Salvation Army, and HOPELinks coordinator.

While not an overnight shelter, the daytime HOPELinks program is a first step suggested by a North Perth Task Force on homelessness, which started two years ago.

“We want to continue to be a community response to a community need. So, as time goes by, we want to be able to stay flexible and meet needs however we can,” says Siertsema.

A similar Connection Centre will soon be opening in Wingham. To learn more about the homelessness problem in Huron-Perth, and to access resources, you can visit the United Way website.