With the closure looming for the Drop-In Centre in Wallaceburg, officials with R.O.C.K. (Reach Out Chatham-Kent) are concerned for the people they serve in the community.
“I think it’s important for the community to know how important this is to the community,” Amanda Vankerhoven, who works for R.O.C.K. in Wallaceburg, told the Sydenham Current.
“We feed 30 to 40 people a day. We give out supplies and it’s not just for people suffering from addictions, although that is a large part of our demographic. We have people who are vicariously housed, people who are homeless and this is a real problem in Wallaceburg.”
Vankerhoven added: “With our doors closed, there is no where for these people to go. Our service is one of a kind in this town. We are the only one. We’re scared for the fate of some of these people once our doors are closed. This is a needed service in a small town.”
As previously reported, R.O.C.K. announced the drop-in centre would close, effective March 31, 2024.
R.O.C.K. officials said at the time the decision stemmed from “unforeseen challenges”, which included the withdrawal of funding from the United Way of Chatham-Kent and the conclusion of the partnership with the 7 Generations Indigenous Cultural Friendship Centre (7GICFC), where the drop in centre is located at 1531 Dufferin Avenue.
Vankerhoven said they are hoping people in the community will reach out.
“At this point, we don’t have anything else,” she said.
“The hope is that people in the community will reach out and give us some ideas and give us some direction on somewhere else to go.
Lisa Medd, who also works for R.O.C.K. in Wallaceburg, says approximately $200,000 is needed to run the program for a full year.
“Apparently we still have some (funding) that comes from the Municipality, so there is some money that is still available, but we need a location,” Medd said, adding that securing a new location before the end of March “would certainly be ideal.
“But if we’re put in a position where we have to close down for a month or two and are able to reopen somewhere else, fantastic. Having it just be that we’re closed and that’s it, that’s kind of frightening. You can see what’s happening here, they’ve got the TV going, watching movies. There are people that go here that stay all day, we’re open from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Some people will stay the whole time, drink coffee, watch movies, hang out,” she said.
Medd added there is no where for the people they serve to go.
“There are people that come in here in difficult situations that we try to help them through as well,” she said.
“We had a situation where a person was trying to get into rehab. We made numerous phone calls on his behalf, trying to get him some assistance. He’s not able to do that on his own, he doesn’t have a phone, nobody can call him back. We do things like that for people.”
Medd and Vankerhoven said in 2023 they served over 12,000 meals, doubling the number of meals served in 2022, which was approximately 6,000.
R.O.C.K. officials say they have been committed to serving the community of Wallaceburg since 2019, providing street level outreach services distributing food, harm reduction supplies, and hygiene products to those experiencing homelessness or insecure housing.
In 2022 the James St. Drop in Centre was opened in partnership with United Way of Chatham-Kent, the Municipality of Chatham-Kent and Ska:Na Family Learning Centre.
The centre moved into the 7GICFC building in November 2023, R.O.C.K. officials said, adding that monetary donations can be made online here or in person at 39 Richmond Street in Chatham.
Josh Myers, the director of housing services for the Municipality of Chatham-Kent, told the Sydenham Current they intend to continue working closely with R.O.C.K. Missions and their outreach program in Wallaceburg.
“We do not have sufficient funding to make up the shortfall that they are now experiencing but are hopeful that they will be able to find another way to assist those that need this service,” Myers said.
More details about R.O.C.K. are available at https://reachoutck.com/.
