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Sarnia

River City Homeless Shelter Reopens

Sarnia's River City Vineyard homeless shelter reopens Tuesday under a new name -- the River City Sanctuary.

Pastor George Esser says they've spent $32,000 renovating the 12-bed Mitton St. facility and he expects the majority of the beds will be occupied.

"We probably will have about eight to ten, that's what we're anticipating," says Esser." "We had to get some renovations to the bathroom, we had to get some ventilation going, some furniture and a TV and stuff, so we have that pretty well all in place."

New storage lockers and a new fire alarm system were also added.

There will be two part time staff anchoring a team of volunteers.

The shelter is back in operation after closing in June 2014 following a court battle with the city. The Ontario Court of Appeal overturned the initial Superior Court ruling in July 2015, saying the city's zoning bylaw had been misinterpreted.

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