MEDIA

For Release - January 19, 2024 - 6:00 AM

  

Local Hamilton resident Angela Vos says the City of Hamilton and the federal Ministry of Defense should open up the armoury located in downtown Hamilton during this unusual cold spell and use it as a warming centre.

​

Vos has launched an online petition at the website HamltonHelps.com

​

“I started this petition because it just breaks my heart to see these men and women sleeping in flimsy tents while the temperature plumets to a windchill of -20 degrees celsius,” said Vos standing in front of the John Weir Foote Armouries in downtown Hamilton.

 

“These armouries are ideally suited to accommodate homeless people on a temporary basis.

This facility has 18,000 square feet of usable space that can accommodate 400 cots.  There are cooking facilities, showers, and bathrooms.”

 

“It seems bizarre to me that taxpayers are paying to heat this large empty facility all night long last night.  In the meantime, there are some of society’s most vulnerable people locked out in the cold, sleeping in tents in winter just down the road. In what world does that make any sense?”, said Vos.

 

In order for the armoury to be used as a temporary shelter or warming centre the City of Hamilton has to ask the province to declare an emergency and ask the federal government for assistance. 

 

“I am calling on the mayor, the premier, and the prime minister to get their act together and do the right thing,“ concluded Vos.

 

Angela Vos is a volunteer community advocate who has personally witnessed the medical traumas from cold exposure among Ontario’s homeless community. She and her spouse have opened the doors to their home and recreational properties in order to assist those experiencing homelessness. 

 

-30-

 

Contact:   Angela Vos  Vosangelar@yahoo.com