Our Place Warming Station is partnering up with United Way to help the homeless in Timmins. United Way provides resources and experience to charities, and this will help Our Place expand. Communications Coordinator, Julie Levesque, says this is great news for the shelter. She says with United Way taking them under their wing the group can continue on doing what they are passionate about. She says that means helping to feed the homeless, and make life better for them. Levesque says this collaboration will allow Our Place to help even more people in need. She says they’ll be able to focus on getting food together, reaching out to the public, and doing community awareness.
During their busiest winter nights, Our Place fed up to 95 people in one night. Executive Director of the United Way Cochrane-Temiskaming, Jean Warren, says this collaboration will get Our Place access to resources they don’t have now, to help even more people. She says even though the winter is busiest, they still have summer plans. That includes things like  working with other local soup kitchens, doing community awareness, fundraisers, and other special things like handing out fruit to those in need.
Warren says Our Place was looking at becoming a charitable status agency. But, the money and effort involved in making that happen is significant. This way, they benefit from the United Way’s experience, and United Way benefits from the work they do to help the community.
Volunteers and donors are also needed. If you are interested in lending a hand, get in touch with the United Way Cochrane-Temiskaming.