An online campaign is underway to raise money to operate a breakfast and drop-in program at The Hub on Queen Street.

It would serve homeless people staying at the Out of the Cold shelter by providing a warm place for breakfast and a safe spot during winter mornings.

The Bridge Missional Communities, a community-oriented church, operates The Hub, a storefront space dedicated to community development in downtown Niagara Falls.

Last winter, Niagara Region and Project Share partnered to launch a temporary overnight shelter at St. Andrew's United Church on Morrison Street.

A total of 262 people had 2,237 overnight stays at the shelter from Nov. 1, 2018 through April 18 this year.

The shelter reopened Nov. 1 and will operate seven nights a week for the next five months.

Chris Clarke, a community development co-ordinator with The Bridge who worked last year at Out of the Cold, said he put in a proposal to open the Queen Street space as a drop-in centre.

The goal is to help meet the morning needs of the homeless in the city, as well as shelter staff and volunteers.

He said homeless people who stayed at Out of the Cold last winter had to leave by 7 a.m., leaving a large time gap until the soup kitchen operated by Niagara Falls Community Outreach opened around noon.

Clarke said The Hub is offering space as a venue to host a morning drop-in and breakfast program from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m., Monday to Friday.

He said the open, welcoming and multi-functional space is "an excellent potential venue" for the drop-in because it's close to other key services.

It's also doors away from Third Space Caf�, where food can be prepared each morning.

"We're giving (homeless people) a warm place to have breakfast, and because of the partners that we have we're able to provide breakfast there in the space," said Clarke.

"It closes a gap, because there's not a lot of places for (homeless people) to go during the day. Usually they end up congregating at one of the local businesses . or at the library, or some of them even up at the hospital.

"But those places aren't really set up to meet that need, so we're filling the gap until the lunch program operates out of the soup kitchen."

For it to happen, officials need volunteers and finances.

Clarke said people can consider providing a week's worth of hot drinks for $20, 25 breakfasts for $50 or three days of facility costs at $150.

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All donations are tax deductible.

For more information, visit fundrazr.com/downtowndropin.

"We've got to get a good push on the fundraiser for it to work out," he said.

"We're going to do it in two parts. We want a quick, big push at the beginning just to see if there's enough momentum in the community."

Clarke said the initial target is to raise about $6,000, which would cover costs through the end of December.

A second push to raise about $14,500 would cover costs until the Out of the Cold shelter closes in the spring.

"The last day that we would operate would be April 1, because the last day the Out of the Cold is going to operate is March 31."

Depending on how the fundraising effort goes, he said, the goal is to have the space operating by next Monday.

Raymond.Spiteri@niagaradailies.com

905-225-1645 | @RaySpiteri