Wayne Paddick is the new executive director of Cambridge Shelter Corporation, taking over from Anne Tinker after three years at the helm.
After years of working in mental health and outreach services, Paddick is ready for the move up in his career, wanting to get as many people housed as he can is his goal.
The new executive director is seeking a smooth transition from his predecessor, who mentored him for months before he took the position officially.
The biggest priority is to make sure everything continues to operate within the shelter corporation as normal, Paddick said in an interview with CambridgeToday.
"What we're looking for is stability."
Paddick doesn't have any immediate plans to make changes. Instead he's focused on the upcoming 'winter overflow season' that the shelters often see.
He is expecting this to be a busier year, with the number of encampments and people currently on the street who will need a safe place to sleep higher than in previous years.
Paddick is hoping to help create more spaces in the future where displaced people can come in from out of the cold and get the support services they need in Cambridge.
Before working as the mental health and housing manager with the Cambridge Shelter Corporation, Paddick spent close to seven years working with the Canadian Mental Health Association as a communications specialist on the outreach team.
In his career, he's been happy to be able to teach students from both local school boards as part of the mental health and addiction program, trying to prevent them from experiencing some of the things he's seen.
Paddick is looking to bring his knowledge in mental health and housing to the position to help people within the shelter system get housed faster.
"We don't need to reinvent the wheel we just need to take the people we have in shelter and get them housed."
A strategic plan that they will be following went to their board last January that will last until 2023, Paddick mentioned.
Paddick checked up on the Kinsmen isolation centre the Bridges is operating out of the former Kinsmen Children's Centre on Concession Road Tuesday.
A permanent facility like the isolation centre could benefit those who are displaced in Cambridge, Paddick said.
Walking around, he quickly became inspired by how a facility like it could transition people recovering from surgery.
"We need to have a facility like the Kinsmen, not only for COVID but for long-term purposes where folks can isolate or recover from surgery or prep for surgery," Paddick said.
"We have individuals who are awaiting surgery right now and can't get the surgery because they don't have a place to recover so the hospital simply refused to do the surgery until they have that place. Right now we don't have that place."
When asked whether he thought Cambridge needed more shelter spaces, Paddick said instead of more money for a new big shelter that houses everyone, he would like to see different shelter spaces with more focused supports, like a senior shelter or the city's first women's shelter.
Paddick hopes in the future he can help with the creation of some of these new spaces as the executive director.
