It’s moving day for Chatham-Kent’s temporary emergency shelter.
Those who’ve been making use of the facility at the Bradley Centre are being transitioned to motels around the area, similar to how the homeless were sheltered before the pandemic.
Mayor Darrin Canniff says it’s all part of the municipality’s “housing first” strategy.
“We were fortunately able to find some more motel rooms to take on the extra demand,” Canniff says. “We’re going to be doing as much as we can to wrap services around them and get them housed permanently.”
The next step is making more housing available.
“As we look to the next couple of years, there’s going to be a lot of places built in Chatham-Kent and that helps a lot. As far as being able to look and say is there a place to rent to get them in, and that’s an issue we’re facing right now. As we build more places, that will help.”
There are a couple of affordable housing projects in the works, including a subdivision of smaller homes off Grand Avenue East and Taylor Avenue in Chatham.
Municipal officials say the pandemic exposed the depth and breadth of social issues in our community, and making sure those dealing with homelessness are also offered all the social services they need.