With staff calling it the best available site to offer the service, Chatham-Kent councilors have approved a location for emergency transitional cabins for the homeless.
Advertisement 2
Article content
The program, which follows council’s direction in January, will consist of approximately 50 individual cabins and one shared communal building.
Article content
During Monday’s meeting, staff recommended the cabins be built on municipal land at 378, 390 and 392 Park St., at the corner of Hyslop Street, in Chatham.
There will be 24/7 security and support staff at the site, working with individuals to build life skills, access health care and obtain more permanent housing.
The current program location at Victoria Park Place on Murray Street will be decommissioned as soon as the new build is fully functional. The lease for that property expires in May 2025.
Josh Myers, director of housing services, said staff will be launching the initiative as soon as possible.
Advertisement 3
Article content
He said the program will give Chatham-Kent residents who are experiencing homelessness the chance to heal, learn new skills and connect with other supports.
“It’s not a community… where people call this their forever home,” he said. “We want to provide them with the life skills that they need to move forward.”
Also approved was the hiring of a project manager on a two-year contract to assist with this project and current and future municipal housing affordable developments. The $264,000 cost will be funded from reserves.
Staff will now begin pre-site development work at the site, including drawings and servicing up to $500,000.
Council approved the recommendations unanimously.
Myers said staff plan to meet with neighbors around the site, noting that co-operation is key.
Advertisement 4
Article content
“First thing we need to do is we need to listen. We need to hear what concerns they have,” he said. “We need to work as a team to figure out how we can best support them as a community.”
During the pandemic, the municipality opened a temporary emergency shelter due to the increasing numbers of individuals and families falling into homelessness.
However, with the need not decreasing during that time, council directed administration to provide recommendations on future emergency and transitional housing plans.
In a search that spanned several months, the municipality analyzed more than 25 different properties.
The following criteria were noted about the recommended site:
• It is already municipally owned, reducing the cost to taxpayers
• 250 meters from a convenience store
• 350 meters from a bus stop
• One kilometer from a laundromat
• One kilometer from Outreach for Hunger
• Three kilometers from Reach Out Chatham-Kent
• Six kilometers from Hope Haven
• Nine kilometers and 2.5 kilometers from two grocery stores
Advertisement 5
Article content
Staff will include the selected location in a request for proposals to inform potential contractors, attract a wide range of proposals and ensure a competitive process by comparing different vendors’ offerings, approaches and prices.
Chatham Coun. Brock McGregor said various upstream challenges, including lack of income and insufficient social assistance rates, are driving the need for emergency housing.
“This is an unsurprising increasing challenge in our community,” he said, adding that municipalities are feeling the cost pressures.
Chatham Coun. Alysson Storey credited staff for their work on the housing file, as well as community partners for their ongoing support.
“We don’t have a lot of options at our disposal,” she said. “We don’t have a magic wand at this table to end homelessness… but I do think that we really have to start building the foundation and pathways to care.
“We can’t afford to wait any longer.”
For more information on the project, visit Let’s Talk Chatham-Kent page at https://www.letstalkchatham-kent.ca/transitional-housing-project
Article content