Hope Haven ‘relieved’ by funding for expanded winter services

After impassioned deputations Monday night, Chatham-Kent council approved more than $65,000 for expanded winter warming services at Hope Haven.

Article content

Article content

Article content

Councilors gave the go-ahead for housing services to amend the current sole-source contract with the agency, located at 183 Wellington St. W., until March.

This extended service will cost an extra $65,250, fully funded by the province from the existing homeless prevention program budget.

Hope Haven general manager Loree Bailey was pleased with the decision, noting the agency already made plans to stay open to accommodate the community.

“We didn’t have a backup plan, so I’m so relieved,” she said. “A hundred different people have been in just in seven days.”

In April, council approved the agreement with Hope Haven to provide outreach services, day programming and limited winter warming for people in deep poverty who can’t afford basic needs.

Article content

Hope Haven doesn’t operate as a shelter or provide sleeping arrangements. Homeless people are referred to Victoria Park Place, but it has a waiting list due to record demand, according to a staff report to council.

“We still need support from the community,” Bailey said of the new funding. “It will keep the lights on. It will keep the heat on.”

She credited those who gave deputations to council Monday night, noting their lived experiences helped highlight the need.

Justin Lucas said Hope Haven gives people a “place to stabilize” and find their dignity.

“To lift each other up together, this is not an easy thing to do,” he said. “But we’ve done it together.

“The resources allocated to Hope Haven are used in a fair and responsible way. I’ve seen it. They make it stretch.”

Article content

Others noted they would’ve felt lost without the facility in the community and that staying warm in the winter can be a matter of life and death.

Asked about plans after March, Bailey said Hope Haven will reassess the situation, adding she remains confident of the municipality’s support.

The staff report said it has become easier for people across Canada to fall into homelessness, but harder to exit it.

“This statement rings true in Chatham-Kent. Drivers of homelessness, such as inadequate income, have not kept up with the rising cost of food, housing, and other necessities, making it more difficult for households in Chatham-Kent to afford essential expenses and much easier to fall into crisis,” it said.

In December 2023, about 178 people were homeless in Chatham-Kent. Since then, the community has seen a 23 per cent increase, with 218 individuals currently unhoused; of those, 125 have been without shelter for 180 days or more and 114 are staying outdoors.

Chatham Coun. Alysson Storey said municipalities need more support from senior governments to tackle the problem.

She also thanked everyone who spoke for sharing their perspectives.

“I think it really brought home what we’re facing in Chatham-Kent,” she said. “Every community is facing this intractable problem and we’re all desperate to fix it.”

[email protected]
@DailyNewsTT

Article content