London, Ont. city council has given the green light for civic administration to enter contracts with Ark Aid Street Mission to provide 120 overnight shelter beds as part of the city’s cold weather response.
Total costs would come in at roughly $3 million, with beds split across four locations:
- 30 beds at the Ark Aid Street Mission building from Dec. 1 to May 31, 2024 ($827,000)
- 15 beds at CMHA Coffee House from Dec. 15 to May 31, 2024 ($404,000)
- 10 overnight spaces at My Sisters’ Place from Dec. 15 to May 31, 2024 ($335,000)
- 65 beds at Bishop Cronyn Memorial Church from Jan. 8 to May 31, 2024 ($1.5 million)
The locations were recommended by city staff at last week’s strategic priorities and policy committee (SPPC) meeting.
Three of the locations went through both SPPC and council without much fanfare, but one location, Bishop Cronyn Memorial Church, had a little more pushback.
Six councillors voted against funding the beds at the church: Ward 3 Coun. Peter Cuddy, Ward 8 Coun. Steve Lehman, Ward 10 Coun. Paul Van Meerbergen, Ward 13 Coun. David Ferreira, Ward 14 Coun. Steven Hillier, and Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis,
Lewis was especially against the location at the church, citing concerns about accessibility, lack of shower facilities, and general maintenance issues. He also said that he would not be supporting any additional funding outside of the initial $1.5 million.
“If the funding envelope evaporates before May 31, I will not be supporting any request for additional funding to keep this site moving, I will be a hard no,” he said. “I do not believe we should be spending public dollars to renovate a building for whatever purpose that enjoys tax free status as a faith institution.”
Lewis recommended the former Bob Hayward YMCA building as an alternative, saying the facility already fits the criteria that the church lacks, but city staff reported that there was no “viable operating or staffing plan” in place for the Bob.
Ward 5 Coun. Jerry Pribil said that the church had its own advantages over the Bob.
“At the Bob, there’s too much outdoor space, up to six security guards would be needed,” he said. “The advantage of (the church) was a proximity to the actual Ark Aid”
The shared resources, volunteers, the kitchen would all be tremendously helpful.”
Mayor Josh Morgan, who had originally voted against the William Street beds during SPPC, swapped his “nay” for a “yay” when informed that surplus funding from last year’s winter response would be put towards this year’s beds.
“Now that we know that we have the money and now that we have a proposal before us, it might not be perfect, but it is something we can move forward with, so I’ll support it today,” Morgan said.
He added that it was unfortunate that council found themselves in between a rock and a hard place regarding this decision.
“It’s not a fault of our staff not trying to work hard. It’s not a fault of the sector who are desperately trying to find individuals. It is a reality of the situation. But we can stand here and criticize everybody for the situation we’re in or we can try to make the best we possibly can visit and take the next best step forward.”
The cold weather response plan will act as an interim measure to get those experiencing homelessness into shelter, while hubs and supportive housing are built as part of the whole of community system response to homelessness.