Despite plans being cancelled for a new temporary homeless shelter in Chatham, the municipality is still keeping its focus on long term and emergency housing solutions.
It was announced on Monday that a proposed temporary shelter at 280 Merritt Ave. would not be moving forward because a lease agreement was not reached in a timely manner.
The intent was to move dozens of people currently staying at the John D. Bradley Convention Centre to the Merritt Avenue location. The convention centre was set up as a temporary shelter in April as the municipality began to see an influx in people on the street due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, as pandemic restrictions have been lifted, the John D. Bradley Centre has begun to see a demand in rental inquiries and is no longer a suitable option for the shelter.
On August 10, council approved entering into a two-year lease for the Merritt Avenue location. However, the decision prompted an outcry from several residents who expressed worries about the impact that a homeless shelter would have on the residential neighbourhood and concerns that it would be too close to a local elementary school.
Director of Employment and Social Services Polly Smith said the objection from residents had nothing to do with the cancelling of the Merritt Avenue location.
"Our first and foremost obligation is to the people that we serve that are precariously housed or homeless," she explained. "The whole goal has been a long term solution and to get people housed and to have a good system in our transitional and emergency housing."
For the time being, the municipality will instead work towards placing homeless individuals and families in motel rooms across Chatham-Kent.
In the report that went to council in August, there were several other options taken into consideration for a temporary shelter besides Merritt Avenue including arenas, municipal buildings or privately owned facilities. However, Smith said the logistics of the other options ultimately weren't feasible or they would not be available for the two-year lease timeframe.
"The arenas weren't suitable because they can't be heated and cooled for long term living. In the summer would be especially problematic because they're not set up for air conditioning," Smith explained. "Everything would be wet from the chillers and the ice pad. It's really not suitable for human habitation."
According to Smith, the municipality has a longstanding history of using motel rooms as emergency shelter options but will be doing so on a larger scale now to accommodate the influx of homeless individuals. Smith added that in addition to providing emergency shelter, the social services team also connects people to vital services and works with them to get access to permanent housing.
Besides emergency and temporary shelter options, Smith said the municipality is consistently working to bring a multipronged approach when it comes to addressing homelessness.
During the August 10 meeting, council also approved that a report be completed before the end of the year to look at Indwell as an option for a long-term solution for people in need of supportive housing. According to Smith, that report is still in the works.
On its website, Indwell describes itself as a “Christian charity that creates affordable housing communities that support people seeking health, wellness and belonging” that has supported more than 600 people in Hamilton, Woodstock, Simcoe, and London.
Smith said she believes Indwell is a great opportunity for the community, not only as a way to provide people with housing but provide them with the necessary services to help them get back on their feet.
"I've heard a presentation from them. They're a well established charitable organization," she explained. "They create communities of housing that really blend in beautifully with the neighbourhood. It helps strengthen people that the system has failed before."
Smith said the initiative of attracting Indwell to the municipality is being led by Neighbourlink, a registered charity made up of citizens from a network of churches in Chatham-Kent.
Smith noted that Indwell is only one solution and the municipality is still aiming to support affordable housing in other locations within Chatham-Kent and to work towards helping a wide variety of individuals, not just those who are experiencing visible homelessness.
"Every kind of housing build really that will extend opportunities for the average family as low-income people," she said. "That's a blurred line because a lot of people aren't making a lot of money so affordable housing is often used by families where both spouses are working and they still need affordable housing."