Getting vulnerable people into affordable housing is only the first step for Hamilton-based charity Indwell.
Keeping them housed is another measure of success, said program manager Shelby Vosburgh.
Last year in Simcoe, none of the 95 people living at Indwell’s two supportive housing sites—Hambleton Hall and Dogwood Suites—ended up back on the street.
“We had a retention rate of 100 per cent,” Vosburgh told Norfolk County council on June 13.
Supportive housing means tenants pay below-market rent and can access health care and social services from trained professionals, such as the housing support workers who are on-site at Dogwood around the clock.
“Someone being successful in their housing looks like having a village to rely on,” Vosburgh said, noting Indwell partners with 11 local agencies in Haldimand-Norfolk to support the 51 residents of Dogwood Suites and 35 at Hambleton Hall, plus the five people living in transitional housing at Hambleton Hall.
Supportive housing units have lease agreements like any other apartment, while transitional housing is available to tenants for up to four years while they “gather the supports needed” to live on their own with some help, Vosburgh explained.
Five residents did leave supportive housing last year to move into larger apartments with family members, which the charity considers a win since their experience with Indwell prepared them to move into more traditional housing.
count. Alan Duthie, whose Simcoe ward includes both Indwell properties, praised the charity’s “incredibly uplifting and inspirational” work.
Mayor Amy Martin noted the “big leap of faith” the previous council took when it approved the Dogwood Suites project in the heart of downtown, committing $250,000 in municipal dollars and securing $10.1 million through the federal National Housing Strategy and two provincial grants totaling $4.2 million .
Indwell, Martin said, can be credited with “helping us rebuild a downtown urban centre.”
JP Antonacci is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter based at the Hamilton Spectator. The initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.