The new location for Chatham-Kent’s emergency homeless shelter is now up and running.
The shelter recently completed its move from its former location at the Travelodge in Chatham to the former Victoria Park elementary school on Murray Street.
“We’re so happy and grateful for the location, it’s going to be a wonderful resource for people that are looking to be rehoused,” said Polly Smith, the municipality’s director of Employment and Social Services. “We’ve had a lot of successful housing placements in recent months, so we’re hoping to get ahead of the number of people falling into homelessness.”
The shelter was forced to relocate after the municipality’s emergency shelter beds program at the Travelodge ended on May 31.
“We had a few hiccups along the way with moving, mostly because we had a flood on the long weekend,” said Smith. “But everybody came together, our staff, our other municipal division, the contractors, and subcontractors pulled off a bit of a miracle.”
Smith said the flood has caused a temporary decrease in the number of available beds, however, all of the shelter’s 50 beds should available in approximately one week. She added that all of the available beds at the shelter are currently in use.
“It’s sort of a waiting list sort of situation,” said Smith. “If we can’t put people up right now at that location, we look to see if there might be a motel option for them.”
Chatham-Kent Council voted in favour of moving the shelter to its new location on Murray Street in March, however, the decision was met with backlash from residents in the area who felt there was a lack of public consultation.
Several public meetings were held prior to the shelter’s relocation, with neighbours expressing frustration and anger over the shelter’s proximity to a daycare, a school, and a retirement facility.
Smith said the shelter full intends to work with local residents to ensure a smooth transition within the community.
“We’ve worked hard to clear up the area as well, so we’re hoping that we alleviate some of the fears that are out there,” she said. “If there’s any kind of emergency, [residents] need to call police. But if something is not an emergency, and they see a problem or they see a trend, then they for sure should call me… I will get back to them and will try to resolve the issue.”
Smith said anyone with concerns pertaining to the homeless shelter can contact her at 519-351-8573.
