An outreach ministry team operated by two North Bay-area churches that helps the homeless has found a new place to operate following a meeting with the City of North Bay earlier this week. Operation Mercy Relief, which includes Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church in North Bay and Callander’s St. Alphonsus Liguori, was left in the lurch after the city evicted them from a downtown parking lot. Since February 2025, Operation Mercy Relief has offered breakfast, lunch, conversation and spiritual support for homeless people every Saturday morning out of a trailer in Municipal Parking Lot 14 at the corner of Main Street and Sherbrooke. Dozens of volunteers from churches across the city, area paramedics and a mobile homeless outreach service, ‘Tracy’s Heart and Hands,’ help their efforts. However, the ministry team received notice from the city that they’re no longer permitted in the parking lot since it is being “repurposed.” At the time, the city told CTV News that the churches were allowed to use the parking lot at no cost, on a trial basis for an extended period. But as attendance grew, so did demands on the site, including safety concerns, cleanup and impacts on city operations. 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 team originally asked permission to use any other nearby parking lot but was denied. However, city representatives met with volunteers Thursday afternoon. Following that meeting, a new deal is being finalized. The service will move to Municipal Parking Lot 7 at the corner of Worthington and Ferguson streets in the coming weeks. Pleased to have found a way forward “We are pleased to have worked with Operation Mercy to find a location that better suits the needs of the service and allows the ministry to continue its work in the community,” said Brent Kalinowski, the city’s community safety and well-being planner. Operation Mercy Relief representative Trevor Levesque said they are relieved they can continue their work. “We appreciate the city working with us to find a new location,” Levesque said. “We look forward to continuing to serve meals and support people in our community who need them.” Each week, 120 to 200 people wait in line for the two-hour service, which runs from 10 a.m. until noon on Saturdays. 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.
