With the contract set to expire at the Travelodge at the end of this month, municipal officials are continuing the transition to the new emergency homeless shelter at a former Chatham school.
Slated for the former Victoria Park public school building at 185 Murray St., the shelter is currently being prepared, said Polly Smith, Chatham-Kent’s director of employment and social services.
“The transition plan is going moderately well. The time frame is a challenge, with only one month until we need to move in. We do remain hopeful that all will be well, as few renovations are required,” she said in an email to The Daily News.
“There are of course many different things to plan, and the team has all been working hard to manage our current emergency and re-housing program while planning our move and adapting to the new location.”
The facility will be known as Victoria Park Place since the building is already well known as Victoria Park and become a place for people to stay while they seek housing, Smith said.
The municipality has a lease agreement with a group of local investors for the building until May 31, 2025. The deal involves the municipality paying a nominal fee of $1 while being responsible for covering the cost of necessary renovations, insurance, utilities and maintenance.
The shelter has space for 50 emergency beds, as well as program space for community agencies.
The facility would run 24-7 and is not billed as a free hostel nor a drop-in centre, given there are requirements for those accessing the service to take part in programs to assist a transition to more long-term housing.
Neighborhood residents were upset they received no notice of the plan, only learning about the shelter idea from media reports a few days before the proposal came to council March 21.
However, councilors at that meeting decided not to defer and approved a staff recommendation to open the shelter on Murray Street, noting the quick turnaround needed to have a shelter in place when the lease at the Travelodge expires May 31.
Public information sessions were held in subsequent weeks, with many nearby residents raising concerns.
Smith said the employment and social services department has not had any additional consultations but hopes “to be invited in the future to speak with an association or group of neighborhood residents on moving forward effectively to fit in the neighbourhood.”
“We have been contacted by local businesses, community groups and agencies who want to help and donate, and we are working with them on plans to make this emergency housing situation the best we have operated yet.”
Despite some of the opposition, she added there has also been an “outpouring of support” from others in the community.
“It means so much to people facing homelessness to be seen as valued members of the community and more than just a problem to be solved,” Smith said.