Ahead of a council vote in March, officials at the Municipality of Chatham-Kent are presenting their case for an emergency housing partnership with a local homeless shelter.
The plan would see the municipality and Chatham-Kent Hope Haven jointly deliver the program at Hope Haven’s 183 Wellington St. W. location. This would essentially replace the Chatham-Kent Emergency and Rapid Rehousing Program located at the Travelodge Hotel, which began in 2020.
The provincial funding, as well as the lease with Travelodge, will be ending soon and the new partnership is meant to address the need for emergency housing in Chatham-Kent, the municipality said in a news release.
Officials with the municipality’s employment and social services department will recommend council approve the new partnership at the March 7 meeting.
“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Hope Haven has operated a day program and provided overnight respite during extreme weather,” the release said. “They are centrally located close to services and the bus depot and their services are well utilized.”
The release said the pandemic has had a “disproportionate impact” on low-income people and families, and many have seen their incomes decline while the cost of living rises.
“Housing costs have increased dramatically across Ontario, including in Chatham-Kent, where the average market rent for a one-bedroom unit has climbed more than 40 per cent in the last three years,” the release said. “Despite this rapid increase, incomes for the thousands in our community on social assistance remain at 2019 levels.”
According to the municipality, homelessness has increased by 150 per cent since 2019 and there are about 200 people without a place to stay on a given night. About five people are accessing emergency housing for the first time each week.
Hope Haven has 27 beds, while Travelodge had 45 beds. Employment and social services will also be issuing a request for proposals to motel operators to reserve a certain number of rooms for families and “prioritized individuals.”
The municipality said people increasingly rely on motel rooms for long-term housing due to the rise in housing costs.
The release said the municipality and Hope Haven would work to find long-term housing for people who use the shelter. Since April 2020, employment and social services has reported finding stable housing for 472 individuals or families.
Loree Bailey, general manager of Hope Haven, said the shelter had 12,049 visits in 2021.
“It feels like a very natural transition after five years of serving this population, that we welcome a municipal partnership at the Haven,” Bailey said in the release. “There can be no question that an emergency program is needed in Chatham-Kent, and we are thrilled to continue to be a part of that.”
The partners will be holding “community conversations” on this proposal over Facebook Live on the municipality’s Facebook page on March 2 at 6:30 pm and March 3 at 12 pm
“No one likes homelessness. However, we can all agree on respecting the dignity of individuals and families that are going through this crisis,” Polly Smith, director of employment and social services, said in the release.
“Many people in our community need help and support. They need a safe place to go and they need services to get back on their feet and into a permanent home.”
More information on the proposal is available at www.letstalkchatham-kent.ca/ck-emergency-housing-proposal .