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Local faith yroups join to fight homeless problem fter years of inaction, some Aocal faith groups are stepping orward to deal with the growâ€" ing problem of homelessness in Waterloo with a plan to build supâ€" portive housing. And despite a sense that it‘s more of a problem in the cores of Kitchener or Cambridge, the new Waterloo Interâ€"Faith Supportive Housing group, also known as WISH, believes homelessness knows no borders, and the City of Waterloo hasn‘t done enough to address the burgeoning problem. The push to fill the gap in Waterâ€" loo‘s social safety net came out of what some churches were seeing firstâ€"hand at the local Out of the Cold program, running out of First United Church, St. Louis Roman Catholic Church and St. John‘s Lutheran Church. The emergency shelter program, which takes in people off the streets during the winter months, has seen a doubleâ€"digit increase in the need for help since it was first started five years ago. An average winter night last year saw up to 90 people taking advantage of the free meals offered. with more than 60 people seeking overnight shelter. With those churches bursting at the seams, they had to enroll other faith communities to take up the overflow, like Wâ€"K United Mennonite Church. And the realization soon came that what started out as a bandâ€"aid soluâ€" tion to local homelessness needed a more permanent fix. Twelve Waterloo faith groups got together to strike a committee to see what was the most dire need to address homelessness in the commuâ€" nity. And five have provided the seed money to start up WISH, with the WATERLOQ . CHRONICLE By Bos Varanac _ Chronicle Staff Continued on page 2 WATERLOO PUBLIC LIBRARY WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2004 + WATERLOO, ONTARIO New search for CAO underway Former Waterloo regional CAO assists in process Waterloo Mayor Herb Epp has recruited Gerry Thompson, longâ€" time CAO of the Region of Waterâ€" loo, who retired from his position after 31 years in June, to assist in the search. Also contributing is Heather Connelly, of the firm Kinley and Connelly, the consultants who recâ€" ommended nowâ€"fired CAO Bob Robertson to the city in August. The search for a new Waterioo chief administrative officer {CAO) is once again underway. . Threeâ€"yearâ€"old Reid Weicke sported his new hat, while decorating a cupcake during the Waterioo Regional Children‘s Museum‘s first birthday party Saturday. Reid is a founding member of the children‘s museum, as his family made donations in their names when the museum was in its building stages. Robertson was dismissed after By Anprea Baney Chronicle Staff Serving your community since 1856 You missed your mouth "They‘re (Thompson and Conâ€" nelly) working on the search and going over all the material," Epp said. "I‘m hoping to have a progress report by the end of the week, and then we can start lookâ€" ing at some examples." Neither Robertson nor the conâ€" sultants revealed his involvement in the deal during Waterloo‘s interâ€" viewing process. Kinley and Connelly has agreed to assist in the new search free of charge. > information surfaced regarding his role in a controversial developâ€" ment deal in Maple Ridge, B.C., when he was CAO of that municiâ€" pality. _Epp assured, the search will be conducted in a "scrupulous" manâ€" net. "We‘re making sure nothing falls between the cracks," he said. The mayor also said he has full $1 INCLUDING GST confidence in Thompson‘s ability to sort through the stack of resumes. "I‘ve known Gerry for 30 years, and I have a lot of confidence in him," Epp said. "He brings a lot of good experience to the process." "I think it‘s going to work out well," he said "We‘ll soon have a short list of viable candidates. _ Thompson said he feels good about the search so far. "We‘re moving through the steps, and we‘re hoping to help the city have ({new CAO) in place by Jan. 1, 2005." Thompson said he doesn‘t mind getting back in the municiâ€" pal mix â€" for now. "It‘s OK for a while," he said. "(Retirement) is going pretty well. I knew it was time for a change, and I wanted to make it Continued on page 4 Crosby Audl 1175 Weber St. E., Kit. TiM MUrPHY PAOTO 894â€"9300 crosbvaudi.com Viewpoint Arts Calendar Classified City Pages M&M Skins game coming to local Granite Club. Page 21 27 19