After investigating a few options, Chatham-Kent may have found a home for their emergency housing shelter for the homeless.
At their online meeting scheduled for tonight, Chatham-Kent council will consider moving the emergency shelter housing to the former Victoria Park elementary school located on Murray Street in east Chatham.
The building, which is currently vacant, will need some renovations, but it has the potential to house over 50 people per night. Officials say with more beds, the location would eliminate the immediate need for additional hotel rooms and transitional housing units.
The building is also said to be big enough to allow for various on-site services as well as space for other municipal emergency needs.
According to a report to council, up to $100,000 of the economic downturn reserves approved during the 2022 budget process could be used for renovations to meet building and fire codes.
Currently the emergency housing shelter in Chatham-Kent is at the Travel Lodge hotel located on Richmond Street in Chatham, however, Travel Lodge has indicated that as of the end of May, they no longer want to be the area’s emergency housing shelter.
The number of individuals experiencing homelessness has grown significantly. In December of 2019, just before to the start of the pandemic, Chatham-Kent identified 83 unique individuals experiencing homelessness. In December 2021, almost two years into the pandemic, that number had risen to 204.