Downtown Mission, October 3, 2024. (Photo by Maureen Revait)
Windsor

Bench Talk supports food bank as usage soars

The Downtown Mission hopes to raise $50,000 to support its food bank through this year's Bench Talk.

By the end of the event Friday at 11 a.m., Executive Director Rukshini Ponniah-Gouilin and other volunteers and staff will have spent 24 hours outside the downtown shelter.

Currently, around 1,500-2,000 individuals visit the Mission's Food Bank each month.

The Bench Talk will also help raise awareness about the services offered through the Downtown Mission outside of the shelter and food bank.

"The things we do beyond those basic services, things like our phoenix recovery program, our enterprise job training program, helping people get back and out of needing a shelter," said Ponniah-Gouilin.

The shelter has been operating at near 100 per cent capacity throughout the summer. Ponniah-Gouilin said the shelter usually runs at 70-80 per cent capacity in the summer and doesn't reach these figures until the colder months.

"It is a concern for us, we are working together with the other shelters, partners, and the City of Windsor to see how we can address the need for this coming winter," said Ponniah-Gouilin.

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