Emergency Shelters

Emergency shelters provide temporary housing and services to meet the needs of people experiencing homelessness.

There are different types of emergency shelter services in Waterloo Region:

• Formal Emergency Shelters funded under an agreement with the Region of Waterloo, which must follow the Region's Emergency Shelter Guidelines.
• Informal Emergency Shelter Sites operated by volunteers, collectively called the Kitchener-Waterloo Out of the Cold program, which offer another shelter option during the winter months.
• Other Recognized Emergency Shelters such as Women's Crisis Services and Safe Haven, which are funded through other sources.

Find out more about Waterloo Region's Emergency Shelters.

The Region currently has agreements with agencies to operate the following programs available to different groups and capacity (as shown below):

Argus Residence for Young People

Location: Cambridge

Lead Agency: Argus Residence for Young People

Serves: youth (females & males), ages 16-25

Capacity: 20 beds

Cambridge Shelter

Location: Cambridge

Lead Agency: Cambridge Shelter Corporation

Serves: females, males and families, age 16+

Capacity: 40 beds and three dedicated family units; infants and toddlers sleep in a crib or playpen

Charles Street Men's Hostel

Location: Kitchener

Lead Agency: House of Friendship

Serves: males age 16+

Capacity: 39 beds

Providing a ROOF (PAR) Pilot

Location: Kitchener

Lead Agency: ROOF

Serves: youth (females & males), ages 16-25

Capacity: 10 beds 

YWCA - Mary's Place

Location: Kitchener

Lead Agency: YWCA Kitchener-Waterloo

Serves: females and families (one or more adult with one or more children), age 16+

Capacity: 60 beds - 50 beds in convertible rooms and 10 beds in single rooms for women with higher needs; infants and toddlers sleep in playpens