There's a big move in the works in downtown Barrie aimed at centralizing and improving services for people in need.
However, there's a glitch in the moving plans that has the David Busby Street Centre asking for just a little more time.
Sara Peddle has worked at the Busby Centre for the last seven years. Now she's getting ready to help move the program to a new home.
The move is a part of the Pathways project, which is a collection of several different agencies Barrie’s homeless. Officials have been looking for a building for some time, and now they've found one.
“We are fortunate that we have finally found a location that a few of our agencies will be locating together,” Peddle says. “So we will be taking occupancy as of July 15, 2015 (at) 88 and 89 Mulcaster St.”
But the Busby Centre needs to be out of its current home at Trinity Anglican Church in the next 10 days. They can move into the new place at the beginning of September, but that leaves them without a place for almost a month.
“We have put in a request to Trinity Church to see if we can stay another month at our current location at 24 Collier St.,” Peddle says.
But the organization has yet to hear back.
“I'm optimistic,” Peddle says. “I don't want to say nervous because it's just about remaining optimistic that we will find a solution. We are never going to let the people who need our services down.”
If the centre can't stay where it is for another month, people who work there already have a back-up plan.
“If we are unable to stay at the church for the month, we will be looking at having our drop in centre at St. Andrew’s church in the morning and at the Canadian Mental Health Association for the afternoon,” Peddle says.
The centre hopes to have an answer as soon as possible and say they plan to keep the community informed.
No interruptions to its services are expected.
