Siscoe presses for two more homeless shelters
St. Catharines mayor lauds approval of $20M homelessness plan
After “immediate and very positive” response to a temporary homeless shelter that opened in St. Catharines a little more than a week ago, Mayor Mat Siscoe wants at least two more built.
While approving a homelessness prevention investment plan outlining how Niagara Region would use an expected $20.7 million in provincial funding over the next two years, Siscoe asked if doing so would “preclude the possibility of opening one, if not two, more of these temporary shelters.”
“What process do we need to go through to start the procurement process for that, while we look for locations for them?” he asked during Tuesday’s public health and social services committee meeting.
“I think this particular method of helping people get out of encampments and off of the streets and into a situation where they’re going to be able to work with regional staff in identifying permanent housing solutions is the best possible step we could have taken,” he said.
The new St. Catharines shelter is staffed 24 hours a day, and people staying there have access to accommodations, support services and meals.
Siscoe said he’s received several emails and messages since the 46room shelter opened on Riordon Street on Feb. 26 — including one “particularly poignant” email from parents of a homeless individual who said they “cannot express how much this means to our family,” calling it the “first positive thing in almost four years.”
“Mayors across southern Ontario have been, quite frankly, banging down my door to find out what we’re doing,” Siscoe said.
“I personally believe that Niagara is instituting what will become the best practice during this crisis.”
Community services commissioner Adrienne Jugley said the homelessness prevention investment plan only relates to funding already provided, and would not preclude any future developments such as building additional temporary shelters.
However, she said, the new shelter has only been officially open for a week and “I’d like to have some more time to see how it’s going.”
“I think we need to cost out what further expansion looks like and bring that information back to council with some considerations,” Jugley said.
Siscoe said while it’s only been a week, “the feedback has been immediate and very positive.”
“Let’s do it at least two more times,” he said.
Siscoe said Region staff did “an excellent job of getting this shelter up and running and the community by and large is very happy, including neighbours.