The fate of Kingston, Ont.’s, sleeping cabins could be decided at Tuesday’s Kingston city council meeting.
Council has a list of options to consider, from finding a permanent location to winding it down.
There are four options on the table for the sleeping cabin pilot project.
They can continue as is, going back and forth from the Portsmouth Olympic Harbour to Centre 70 arena, re-locate to Rodden Park or to the Rideau Marina or wind down the project.
A staff report going to city council Tuesday night for debate outlines the options.
“I think it is ultimately how do we create a continuum of housing solutions for individuals? How do we make sure that people can move through the system to wherever they are best suited,” said Ruth Noordegraaf, director of Housing and Social Services for the city.
The pilot project has been operating since 2022, going back-and-forth from the Portsmouth Olympic Harbour parking lot to Centre 70’s parking lot as neither location can be used year-round.
Moving the operation to Rodden Park on a longer-term basis has one local resident concerned.
“This is our only green space in this neighbourhood,” said Dave Hudson, a resident of the Rodden Park area.
Hudson said the road into the park and to the sleeping cabins could pose accessibility issues in the winter.
Kingscourt-Rideau Coun. Brandon Tozzo said that the Rideau Marina is “by far the superior option,”.
Tozzo said if the project continues the marina would be a better location, but before considering the options, he wants to know how the pilot project has performed.
“Is the money we’re putting in are we getting good return are people moving on to transitional housing are people getting out of homelessness?” he said.
Our Livable Solutions, a local non-profit, runs the sleeping cabin program and director at large Chrystal Wilson says the option to wind down has her most concerned.
“We have a few people who have gone to other programs, other transition housing and all of them have tried to come back to the cabins,” said Wilson.
Since its start, the sleeping cabins have been home to 37 people.
Six of those have moved on to permanent and transitional housing or a stabilization program.
Whether more will benefit from the program here, elsewhere or not at all will now be up to city council.
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