Demand for service has increased dramatically at The Gathering Place which helps to meet the needs of some of the most vulnerable in society.

The Gathering Place offers meals and emergency shelter to both registered guests and drop-ins, many of whom are struggling with homelessness, and mental health and addictions challenges.

Executive director Paul Davis says they’ve seen a steady increase in service demands, and complexities.

He says when The Gathering Place’s space was redeveloped, they had about 400 registered guests. By 2019 that had more than doubled to more than 900 registered guests, and a number of unregistered guests. By 2021 that number had more than doubled again to about 2000.

Davis can’t say for certain what’s behind the increase, but says their food costs at The Gathering Place have increased by 75 percent over the last year.