The Ontario government is providing more than $1.7 million to expand an emergency shelter in Lindsay.
On Tuesday, Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock MPP Laurie Scott announced the City of Kawartha Lakes will receive $1,750,249 as part of Phase 2 of the Social Services Relief Fund to expand and renovate A Place Called Home in Lindsay. Approximately $1.5M will go to the shelter and the remaining to the municipality’s social services division.
The renovations include building a new 19-bed shelter along with five new affordable housing units, one four-bedroom house and four one-bedroom apartments.
“Investing in important housing projects like this is critical to help protect our most vulnerable citizens from COVID-19,” said Scott. “We’re working closely with our community partners to ensure they have the resources and space to help keep people safe during these difficult and unprecedented times.”
Hope Lee, the municipality’s manager of human services (housing), says the pandemic has especially impacted the vulnerable. The funding will help the shelter meet public health requirements.
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“This funding will help ensure those experiencing homelessness in our community have a safe place to find shelter,” said Lee. “We thank the province for making this investment in our community.”
David Tilley, interim director of the shelter, says the provincial funding represents “stability and increased safety” for residents and staff.
“For the past six months, we have been assisting clients through local motels as our current shelter is unable to accommodate the demands created by the pandemic,” said Tilley. “This investment will create a strong foundation and provide a launching pad that will result in a new purpose-built shelter and better service to the homeless of the city and county. Our agency is extremely thankful to both the province and municipality for their ongoing support.”
Scott said the provincial funding is part of the government’s $510-million investment to help protect the health and safety of the province’s most vulnerable people.
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