To address a growing homelessness population within its borders, Oxford County is doubling the number of emergency beds at a Woodstock overnight shelter.
To address a growing homelessness population within its borders, Oxford County is doubling the number of beds at a Woodstock emergency overnight shelter.
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The 25 beds added at the Inn – a shelter that operates out of Old St. Paul’s Anglican Church – is part of a collaborative initiative involving the church, Operation Sharing and Oxford County to address homelessness in the community.
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“It’s going to make a big difference.” said Sheri Vindasius, executive director of Operation Sharing, the non-profit organization that staffs the shelter. “It’s allowing 25 more individuals from our homeless community a safe place to rest their heads.”
Vindasius called homelessness a crisis and said she’s seen a sharp increase in the number of people unhoused and struggling with food insecurity.
The Inn provided shelter for 237 individuals in 2023, and the nightly average was 24 people, just shy of maximum capacity.
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The expansion doubles the number of people the Inn can house overnight, providing relief to those who would have to seek accommodations elsewhere when beds are full. The shelter also provides a meal, clothing, shower and washroom access.
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Marcus Ryan, Oxford County warden, thanked the Inn and Old St. Paul’s Anglican Church “for their tremendous leadership” to support more people.
“The scope and the intensity of the housing problem that we’re experiencing in Oxford as throughout almost all of Ontario is so large that we need to really start looking also at transitional housing,” he said.
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An average of 10 new individuals experienced homelessness for the first time each month in 2023, while 47 found permanent housing since April, Oxford County said in a media release.
An average stay for an individual requiring overnight emergency shelter was 35 nights in 2023, Kelly Black, Oxford County’s human services director, said in an email.
Regarding the growing issue of homelessness in Oxford County, Black added: “Over the past year there has been an increased response to encampments, and we can say that we are currently aware of 22 encampments in our county with approximately 99 individuals.”
In neighboring London, city staff say the homeless population could exceed 2,000 people, and about 350 people were living without any shelter at all. In November, there were 103 homeless encampments which could include multiple tents.
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Oxford County’s 10-year strategy to address those experiencing homelessness focuses on social housing options such as transitional housing, supportive and affordable housing and working with community partners to support unhoused people.
“Our hope is that it’s going to allow the people who choose to use the Inn a safe place and allow 25 extra people to be off the streets,” Vindasius said.
The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada
About The Inn (Operation Sharing)
What: A community shelter providing a supportive environment for individuals experiencing homelessness.
Where: Old St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Woodstock at 723 Dundas St.
When: Between the hours of 4 p.m. and 8 a.m.
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