Indwell officially opens St. Thomas affordable housing development

Make it 14, and counting.

That’s how many affordable housing communities Indwell either operates or has under development in Southwestern Ontario after the Christian-based charity unveiled its latest project in St. Thomas on Thursday.

Three tenants began moving into the 45-unit apartment building at 16 Queen St. last week, with the remaining to settle in during the next month.

“Our community continues to have a need greater than what we can solve, but this is going to make a large chunk of change in our community this summer, going into next winter,” St. Thomas Mayor Joe Preston said Thursday during a tour of the site.

The 2,612-square-metre (28,115-square foot) building – called The Station – houses a fire hall on land donated by the city. The build features a large community kitchen, a laundry room, a common room and nurse’s room, staff offices and 45 one bedroom units – nine of which are accessible – with an average size of 40.5 sq. Mr.

The pet-friendly units include amenities, such as a kitchenette and bathroom, along with closet space, a single bed and a living room space. Outside, there is a community garden and parking lot.

The building is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week with overnight security. There is 11 full-time staff, including registered nurses, to provide wrap-around services, including social, health and mental health resources.

Each day, residents have a chance to participate in a “family-style meal,” said Jessica Mostert-Thiessen, program manager at Indwell.

The organization has a full-time food facilitator to create the meals and offer programs that teach tenants what to look for when buying groceries and how to budget well, she said, addressing reporters and St. Thomas politicians in the kitchen.

“Good food is really important to us. Dignifying food is really important to us. And this is where some of that magic happens.”

The one-bedroom apartments rent for $556 a month, the monthly shelter allowance for those living on Ontario’s disability support program.

Tenants are chosen from St. Thomas’s by-names list, a list of all people experiencing homelessness who have connected with city services, said Mostert-Thiessen.

“We make sure that we document their needs, and then those with higher need get prioritized for housing,” she said, adding there is higher priority for women, Indigenous people, veterans and those experiencing chronic homelessness.

The 45 units are specifically earmarked for “mid-acuity individuals” who are largely dependent but benefit from the supports provided at the site, Mostert-Thiessen said.

The Station is Indwell’s second housing development in St. Thomas. The Railway City Lofts at 614 Talbot St. are 15 supportive housing apartments that opened in the fall of 2021.

Indwell is in the hunt for a site for a third project, Mostert-Thiessen said.

“The intention of that project will be a standard support apartment,” she said. “That’s where individuals are very independent. They would just benefit from a very present and active landlord.”

The latest development on Queen Street is the result of an important partnership between Indwell, community agencies and city hall, a collective response to homelessness that should be studied by other municipalities, said Graham Cubitt, director of projects and development at the charity.

“St. Thomas provides the model for all of Ontario, about how our community can work together to solve homelessness,” he said.

“Under the mayor’s leadership, it was council saying, ‘What are we going to do if it’s not just enforcement?’ And that was bringing agencies together and bringing different partners together and saying, ‘OK, if we all use our strengths, what can we achieve?’”

Cubitt said Indwell now has 14 housing projects complete or underway in Southwestern Ontario, including the two sites in St. Thomas, four in London, two in Simcoe, two in Kitchener, three in Woodstock and one in Chatham.

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