Volunteers are salvaging whatever they can from a Gore Street depot that serves people living with addiction and experiencing poverty after it closed last week due to a burst pipe.
Save our Young Adults moved into the building at 178-180 Gore St. as a temporary measure in 2021, at a time when it expected to eventually inhabit the second floor of the Verdi Hall — which was being used as a temporary men's shelter.
That move never happened and SOYA has remained in the building at 178-180 Gore St. ever since.
The pipe that burst last week forced SOYA to close its doors to the vulnerable population it serves.
"We just want to make sure that SOYA is not closing," said founder Connie Raynor-Elliott.
"I'm hearing that on the streets and it's heartbreaking.
"We're just trying to save as much stuff as we can and continue on," she added.
With no heat and no water in the current space, SOYA is not able to open in the foreseeable future and the organization's new renovated space across the street at 170 Gore St. will not be ready for another few weeks.
"They're working super hard on the new building. They're really picking up the pace," said Raynor-Elliott.
Most of the food stored at the current depot was damaged when the pipe burst last week. SOYA also lost much-needed supplies like drug testing kits and naloxone kits.
Raynor-Elliott said the drug testing kits are essential to prevent drug poisonings and she is unsure of how the organization will source more to replace the ones that were destroyed.
The organization is looking for short-term storage space to hold on to items not ruined by the burst pipe.
While the depot remains closed, SOYA's street team continues to engage people and some partner agencies have stepped up to assist.
Grocer 4 Good at 147 Gore St. offered free soup on Saturday and its founder Lisa Vezeau-Allen said the organization will continue to do that while SOYA's doors are closed. It is also taking in donation of small items for people to keep warm, including hats, mitts and socks to be distributed through its community table.
Vezeau-Allen told SooToday that Grocer 4 Good does not have the space to take in larger items, like boots and coats, and cannot take in any other clothing items other than hats, mitts and socks.
Raynor-Elliott said people can also keep their extra jackets, boots or other warm items in their car to distribute to someone who needs it.
"A $5 Tim [Hortons} card can be huge, just getting people out of the cold," she said.