Frost covered Cold Weather Alert Graphic

Cold Weather Response

Frost covered Cold Weather Alert Graphic

Letter Written to: Mina Fayez-Bahgat, Simcoe County General Manager, Social and Community Services Division (January 22, 2026)

I want to thank you for the ways in which Simcoe County staff have presented at the past 2 Housing and homelessness Symposiums at St. Mary's the past 2 years. 

Yet I also am concerned that there is whispering that certain organizations should not be advocating for changes in our society. 

I want to ask you bluntly - how will Simcoe County respond to the need for warming centers as we face temperatures plunging to -30 with wind chill this weekend. All of the warming centers turned people away this week. 

If no one else will speak out for advocacy - the churches in Barrie and Simcoe will!

Fr. Larry Leger, Pastor, St. Mary's Parish.

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Written Response from : Mina Fayez-Bahgat, Simcoe County General Manager, Social and Community Services Division (January 23, 2026)

Hello Father Larry:

Thank you for your message and for your support of the Housing and Homelessness Symposiums over the past two years.

The County of Simcoe has adopted a new approach for our funded warming centres this winter. These centres are now operating seven days a week until the end of April, rather than being activated based on weather or temperature conditions. This shift ensures a more proactive and reliable system throughout the winter months.

In anticipation of the upcoming extreme cold weather event, the County is implementing additional measures with our funded service providers to increase system capacity and flexibility. These measures go beyond the warming strategy already in place and include:

  • Increasing capacity within existing warming centres where space and Fire Services requirements safely allow.
  • Directing funded agencies to offer greater flexibility in providing warm, indoor spaces and easing non‑essential restrictions where it is safe to do so.
  • Requesting extended outreach services and longer hours to proactively engage individuals who may be unsheltered or at risk.
  • Securing motel spaces should the system approach capacity, ensuring no one seeking warmth is left without options.

Our priority remains ensuring that anyone seeking shelter from the cold has access to it.

We appreciate your advocacy, compassion, and commitment to addressing these issues within the community. Please feel free to share this information during your Sunday service.

Thanks,

Mina Fayez-Bahgat (He/Him)

General Manager, Social and Community Services Division

County of Simcoe, Social & Community Services

1110 Highway 26, Midhurst, Ontario  L9X 1N6

Phone: 705-722-3132 Ext. 1116

Email: Mina.Fayez-Bahgat@simcoe.ca

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Reality: From 2 Clergy in Barrie on the Coldest Night of the Year - January 23, 2026

Before going downtown to see if anyone on the streets needed help, "Clergy 1" had received a list of shelters and their telephone numbers from the county. "Clergy 2" had spoken with an employee at the city of Barrie and had been assured that no one would be left out in the cold if they asked for shelter. "Clergy 2" was left with the very real feeling that capacity was there in such an emergency.

The first encounter with a person looking for shelter was at Trinity Anglican Church hall. A young woman had been speaking with someone inside as we approached. But by the time we arrived the conversation had ended and the door was shut. She was standing there with no place to go. We offered her a ride in order to check out other shelters.

We went to Hope City Church where "Clergy 2" went to the door and encountered a young man standing outside of the door and in conversation with an attendant. We were told that there was no space available. When "Clergy 2" pressed the point that at temperatures such as we were expecting, being left outside would be a matter of life or death, the attendant was firm; there was no space. When asked about allowing the young man some space on the floor, a young female attendant was adamant that it was not permitted because of safety concerns. "Clergy 2" countered with the observation that leaving a person outside at the current temperatures was also a safety risk. The answer was still “No.” The young man was cold and desperate with no options, so he was offered space in the vehicle so he could warm up.

He suggested that we could try the shelter on Tiffin Street, so we drove them there and were told that there was one bed left. "Clergy 1" told the attendants that we had two people and reminded them that staff at these centers had been asked to be flexible with the rules because of the severe temperatures. The answer remained “No.” The young woman took the remaining bed. The young man had mentioned that he had an offer of a place to stay, but it was with people he would not choose to hang out with. We asked about his sense of safety with these people and he assured us that he was a “big boy” (despite the fact that he was not physically large) and could look after himself. We drove him to a house on Dunlop Street West, where he was given accommodation.

We returned to Collier Street and saw a woman on the street who appeared to have no direction to where she was going. We had seen her earlier, on Dunlop Street, close to Hope City Church and walking in that direction. We asked if she needed help and she informed us that she had a place to stay in a local motel and was in trouble because her cell phone battery was dead. She also told us that she was concerned about another woman who was on the streets and asked us to try to find her and get her some shelter. 

We could not locate that woman but found another young woman in a bus shelter. She had some large bags of possessions, had nowhere to go and needed a place to stay. She seemed to have some cognitive issues because she wasn’t sure of her age, or where she had been raised and didn’t really know how she had come to be in Barrie. In spite of her uncertainty, she showed no signs of being under the influence of any substance. Through some conversation, the woman with the motel room offered that second woman a place to stay for the night.

"Clergy 1" tried to call the numbers of the shelters on the list provided by the county, to determine availability of accommodation. There were no answers at any of them. At no time did any of the attendants at the Hope Church or Tiffin Street shelters offer any actual help in locating alternative shelter. All they offered was to question whether we had checked out the other shelters. They had their rules and were not willing to bend them, even in the face of grave danger to human life.

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Parishioners of St. Mary's and Residents / Taxpayers in Simcoe County:

I invite you to contact the City of Barrie, The County of Simcoe, And express your concern about the lack of real planning for these emergency conditions!