The City of Windsor and several community partners are expanding evening and weekend hours to support vulnerable and homeless community members.
The expansion is described as 'a temporary enhanced outreach initiative to strengthen outreach coverage and improve coordinated responses to homelessness in Windsor during evenings and weekends.'
The city's manager of homelessness and housing support Kelly Goz says two outreach services are being expanded into the weekend.
The first is the Mobile Outreach Support Team (MOST) van.
The van will now operate daily from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. until March 31 (2026) and will allow outreach teams to provide timely support, conduct well-being checks, offer basic needs supplies, and respond to community concerns both during the week and on weekends.
The second service expansion will see city housing social workers providing clinical assessment support while working alongside Family Services Windsor-Essex outreach workers from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
They will engage individuals earlier in the day, strengthen relationships, and support connections to shelter, housing programs, and health services.
Goz says the expansion of services will allow for greater coverage on weekends.
"It was really about ensuring that folks experiencing homelessness had the ability to connect with timely supports as well as for staff to be able to conduct wellness checks, offer other basic need supplies, and respond to community concerns on the off hours, being more specificially on weekends," says Goz.
She says the city heard from downtown residents as well as business owners in the core.
"Majority of supports offered are Monday to Friday during regular business hours, and just recognizing that homelessness doesn't end at 4 p.m. on a Friday," says Goz. "It continues on to the weekends and just wanting to ensure that folks are aware of the services and supports that are available."
Goz says the city and its partners are using existing resources for the expanded hours.
The city says, "By layering these two outreach components, the partners can respond directly to service requests beyond weekday hours and aim to ensure more consistent, responsive support for the community’s most vulnerable residents throughout evenings and weekends."
The city is encouraging the public to call 311, and non-emergency support can be dispatched between 8 a.m. until 9 p.m. during the week, and 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. on weekends.
The city's partners include Windsor police, Canadian Mental Health Association Windsor-Essex County, Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, and Family Services Windsor-Essex.