Plans for a temporary homeless shelter in Chatham-Kent are once again changing.
The emergency shelter will now NOT move to the Chatham Banquet and Conference Centre.
Council recently approved moving the temporary shelter from the Bradley Centre to the Banquet and Conference Centre, the former CAW Hall on Merritt Ave in Chatham. Neighbours were opposed to moving the shelter to the residential area across the street from Winston Churchill Public School.
Municipal officials now say the lease for the property is no longer being pursued.
On August 10th, Chatham-Kent Council directed administration to negotiate terms of a two-year lease with the property at 280 Merritt Avenue for the purpose of a temporary shelter. Council also asked for a report on a supportive housing development option with Indwell – a charity that creates affordable housing communities to assist people seeking health, wellness and belonging.
A group of concerned citizens, lead by Neighbourlink, is hoping to attract Indwell to Chatham-Kent. Indwell currently supports more than 600 tenants in over 570 households in Hamilton, Woodstock, Simcoe, and London
C-K officials say that despite the sincere efforts of the owners and administration at the Chatham Banquet & Conference Centre, an agreement within the period needed to move has not been reached.
To date, the John D. Bradley Convention Centre has assisted in providing temporary shelter space for more than 150 people in need of housing in Chatham-Kent. The Bradley Centre is now experiencing demand for rental space and can no longer accommodate the shelter. Employment and Social Services staff will need emergency accommodations for the foreseeable future in order to best serve the most vulnerable members of our community.
Chatham-Kent emergency shelter services will now use motel rooms within Chatham-Kent, primarily in Chatham, to meet temporary shelter needs. This option is now possible as motels have come forward identifying their renewed capacity to serve individuals and families who find themselves homeless and are willingly participating in the sheltering plans.
“The opportunity to lease 280 Merritt Avenue in Chatham was a workable solution for a temporary shelter,” advised Polly Smith, Director of Employment & Social Services. “We are grateful to the owners who willingly offered to help. With the urgent need to secure an alternate location and a lease not yet close to being finalized, a change of course was required. At the beginning of the pandemic, hotels had a shortage of available rooms. Recently local hotels have advised us of renewed opportunity to continue our long-standing arrangement of temporarily placing our vulnerable population while we assist them in securing permanent housing. We are grateful for this opportunity and will move our services out of the John D. Bradley Centre shortly. With this change, all community meetings and other plans related to the move to 280 Merritt Avenue in Chatham have been cancelled.”
“Over the last 5 months municipal staff, in partnership with multiple community groups, have worked diligently to ensure our most vulnerable citizens have been as safe as possible throughout the pandemic. There is still more work to be done as we navigate through the next several months. I hope as a community we continue to support one another, it has been said many times, we are stronger together. Taking care of our most vulnerable is one of the things that makes our community stronger” said Mayor Canniff.
“It is my sincere hope that the community will actively support increased housing development and supportive housing options in Chatham-Kent,” adds Smith. “Helping individuals and families obtain adequate housing with supports for those who need them will strengthen our community. I would also like to thank the John D. Bradley Centre for their support and community mindedness over the past 4 months.”
