Multi Agency Community Space (MACS)
THRIVE’s MACS satellite site in Cambridge is a coordinated collaborative homelessness hub located in the Region of Waterloo building at 150 Main St, Cambridge, ON N1R 6P9.
Partnering agencies include THRIVE in the lead role, with The Cambridge Food Bank,and Langs Community Health Centre as key partners. Starling Housing Services, Canadian Mental Health Association, Sanguen Health Centre’s health care bus, and the
Region of Waterloo providing rent-free space help to provide a full spectrum of care.
MACS has been implemented to provide basic needs, mental health, the housing PATHS list for affordable and supportive housing, addictions treatment, primary healthcare (including a fully-operating private clinic room), and harm reduction supports in Cambridge. Other supports provided through this space include encampment
outreach, overdose response, some nutrition support, income support, legal services (eviction support), an ID clinic, and support for individuals with acquired traumatic brain injury.
This drop-in service hub is the only full-time collaboration supporting homeless unsheltered individuals in Cambridge who are unable to access the limited local shelter space. The MACS site supports between 120 to 140 individuals living in local encampments, while the harm reduction/needle syringe program at the site engages
with over 800 unique individuals in the community.
Between 2023 and 2025, services, resources and partnerships in support of the Cambridge MACS expanded. We are grateful to the Ontario Ministry of Health -HIV & Hepatitis C Programs, and the Region of Waterloo Housing for their continued support for this initiative. In 2023 MACS began running a Cambridge Street Outreach Program, partnered with Sanguen Healthcare’s outreach team. The outreach team provides encampment outreach, resource distribution, and referral support to individuals experiencing homelessness in Cambridge.
Over the past year, the MACS team supported individuals through a total of 14,312 engagements. Harm reduction interactions at the site totaled 5313, while healthcare interactions reached 1353. In 2025, we hope to strengthen partnerships and secure further resources for our site, permitting the expansion of services to include morning programming, our HIV and PrEP clinics, and eviction prevention services in Cambridge.
MACS Team 2022
