Lambton County assessing four sites for affordable housing

Lambton County and a supportive housing consultant are assessing four potential sites for affordable housing projects.

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The sites include part of Sarnia’s Victoria Street Parking lot, open space at a county social housing site on Kathleen Avenue, also in Sarnia, and two others, a county report said.

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Facing a shortage of affordable and supportive housing, and a rising number of people experiencing homelessness, county council in July declared providing affordable housing and shelter is its No. 1 priority.

Lambton’s housing services staff are working with Flourish, a consulting company created by Ontario supportive housing provider Indwell, to assess the suitability of the four locations for affordable or supportive housing developments.

“We really needed somebody to come in and help us to determine, for each project, what needs to be done, what steps need to be taken, the timelines to do that, what projects should be prioritized over others,” said Melisa Johnson, the county’s acting housing services manager.

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“They’re going to look at the community as a whole and some of the possible projects and really help us prioritize which ones can happen quicker than others, and which ones are more appropriate for supportive housing.”

Supportive housing combines affordable apartments with services, such as health care, mental health support and addictions counseling, to help residents maintain housing.

Johnson said the county isn’t disclosing where the other two potential sites are at this time.

A Flourish report on the four sites is expected to go to county council in April.

County council approved a plan this year to hire a temporary co-ordinator to help develop local affordable housing proposals, but no suitable candidate was found, “which is part of the reason we’re engaging with Flourish,” to do some of the work , Johnson said.

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“We’re still hopeful we can still get someone in that position, maybe at a future date,” she said.

The county also set aside $500,000 a year in “seed money” for local affordable housing initiatives by non-profit agencies to help with feasibility studies, surveys, planning fees and other preliminary work.

The county knows meeting the need for affordable housing isn’t something “we can do alone,” Johnson said. “We do need all partners to come to the table.”

That includes private developers and non-profit groups, she said. “We will work with them and support them where we can.”

A local committee, including some Rotary Club members in Sarnia, also has been working to bring more affordable housing to the community.

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Heather Martin, one of the group’s four members, was pleased to see the county offer seed funding.

The committee got some of that money to look at a potential supportive housing project with a community agency at an undisclosed site, she said.

“We continue to explore other opportunities and all opportunities that present themselves in the community,” Martin said. There are “lots of people and community agencies” who have been “coming forward to say, ‘How can we be a part of this really positive initiative?’ ”

Donations are being accepted by a Rotary Club affordable housing fund, and another at the Sarnia Community Foundation, Martin said.

The committee also plans a February Poison Ivy Murder Mystery fundraiser at DeGroot’s Nurseries, she said. “Tickets will be on sale soon.”

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Johnson said county officials are looking at projects providing a total of about 150 units.

“Generally, when Indwell comes to a community, 150 units is kind of the number they need to make a viable project,” Johnson said. “That doesn’t mean 150 units on one location. Generally, it’s two or three locations throughout the city.”

It’s expected 15 to 30 units may have “24-7 wraparound support,” with about 60 units offering medium-level support, and the rest offering a lower level of support services, “similar to what we’re already providing with our community support workers,” she said.

Ontario Health Ministry funding will be needed to provide the support service, and funding will also be needed “to actually build the housing,” Johnson said.

“Having the concrete strategic plan in place will definitely help us” to “advocate for those dollars,” she said.

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