An outreach team from two North Bay-area churches is trying to find someplace to set up a trailer it uses to serve homeless people breakfast. The team was left in the lurch after the City of North Bay evicted them from their current location in a downtown parking lot. The ministerial team says it fears their regular clients are not getting the support they need. Since February 2025, Operation Mercy Relief has served food, conversation and spiritual support for homeless people every Saturday morning out of their trailer in Municipal Parking Lot 14 at the corner of Main Street and Sherbrooke. The team includes representatives from Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church in North Bay and Callander’s St. Alphonsus Liguori. “The whole premise of our street ministry is to serve those most in need,” said Father Daniele Muscolino, pastor of both churches. “We’ve been doing it with our own resources and the donations of parishioners and the community at large.” Dozens of volunteers from various churches across the city, paramedics with the District of Nipissing Paramedic Services and Tracy Clement’s mobile homeless outreach service ‘Tracy’s Heart and Hands’ help their efforts. “We’re all in this together to make it better for those people that need help,” Clement said. On average, up to 150 people who need food and necessities wait in line for the two-hour service, which runs from 10 a.m. until 12 p.m. “People are very appreciative of the service that we’re offering because on Saturdays there’s not much for people,” said Trevor Levesque, a volunteer with Operation Mercy Relief. “They’re getting fed. They’re getting hot coffee. They’re getting hot chocolate and they’re also getting companionship.” However, a few weeks ago the churches received a 24-hour notice from the city that they’re no longer permitted in the parking lot since it is being “repurposed.” The team asked for permission to use any other nearby parking lot to continue its ministry work but was denied and told to find private property. “It just seems like perhaps services like this, outreach programs, aren’t really being valued,” Muscolino said. In the past year, the ministry team estimates it has served more than 6,500 hot drinks, 5,000 bowls of oatmeal and almost 6,000 sandwiches from the parking lot. In response to CTV News, the City of North Bay said that the churches were allowed to use the parking lot “at no cost, on a trial basis for an extended period.” “As attendance grew, so did the demands on the site, including safety concerns, clean-up and impacts on city operations,” city spokesman Gord Young wrote in a statement. “The property is a city facility where staff work, and the parking lot supports facility operations and provides monthly parking rentals to the public. These considerations, along with increasing demand for parking in the area, led the city to return the lot to its primary use.” The churches wrote a letter to parishioners about the ongoing challenges and posted it on Facebook. On the social media post, Mayor-elect Maggie Horsfield wrote that she has received numerous messages about the issue. “I know this initiative has helped a lot of people and I want to help find a solution,” Horsfield said. The ministry team is pleading with the city to help it find another central, suitable place nearby to continue their work. A location they have in mind is Leger Square at city hall. “It’s a known spot other agencies have used,” Clement said. “Overdose awareness is held there. They have other events there … We’d only be there for two hours. We don’t see why we can’t. It’s a perfect location.” For now, they’ve been offered The Gathering Place’s back parking lot. But client numbers have dropped significantly since moving there and there’s not enough space to set up the trailer and tables. “Our desire is to be downtown because that’s where the majority of the homelessness is,” Levesque said. “That’s where people can find us and where we’re visible.” At a time when homelessness is so rampant, the ministry team said it shouldn’t be at odds with the city or other agencies and that all sides should be working together to tackle the crisis. They’re hoping to meet with the city to find a solution that works for all. “We’re living the gospel values of serving our brothers and sisters in need,” Muscolino said.
