St. Thomas Cooling Centre is at 423 Talbot Street, Free City Transit Available

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HEAT ALERT, PLEASE SHARE: The St. Thomas Cooling Centre, where you can shelter from the heat, is at 423 Talbot Street. Hours are 8am-8pm. There is also free transit in the city for anyone that needs to get there.

*Want to donate something? Bottles of water would be appreciated.*

The normal city locations our vulnerable could shelter in to get a break from the heat are currently closed to the public, such as the St. Thomas Public Library and the Joe Thornton Community Centre. In additional to that, the various restaurants and coffee shops, including the The Grace Cafe, are not allowed to have guests take a break inside during the current emergency measures.

The location at 423 Talbot Street has capacity for 30 occupants at a time right now, but they have the ability to expand if needed. If they receive more people that need shelter from the heat at the moment they can rotate people through at 20 min intervals.

I (Grayden) chatted this afternoon with Lori Fitzgerald, who administers the space (provided by City of St. Thomas, Ontario) on behalf of Inn Out Of The Cold St.Thomas-Elgin to get an update on how things have been going since they opened.

"Having the ability to open up during the day as well as being able to help people move their lives forward amid the COVID-19 crisis is a blessing." - Lori Fitzgerald | Executive Director, Inn Out of the Cold St. Thomas-Elgin

The facility is full stocked and visitors have access to many resources. There is space for social distancing, private areas available if needed, and food & drinks (water, coffee, tea) also available.

There is also access to television and wifi for visitors. Two computers are also accessible, donated by Nortrax, and a phone that is available with staff supervision. Devices are also being wiped down after each use to protect guests from COVID-19.

In addition to these services, if anyone is there and looking for housing or access to other services or help filling out forms, staff will provide help.

If you don't have air conditioning in your home and need a break from the heat, you are also encouraged to drop by. The space is wheelchair accessible.

To access the space use the side door on Mary Street. Covid-19 screening and security screening is in place to access the building.

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