Construction of an affordable housing and wellness hub has gotten underway in downtown London, Ont., with the city contributing roughly $4 million to the project from its Housing Development Corporation.
The donation comes in addition to the $10.4 million that has already been raised over the last seven years by Youth Opportunities Unlimited (Y.O.U.) for its $30-million Joan’s Place project, a planned 55,000 sq. ft. facility at the corner of Richmond and York streets.
The city’s contribution was first announced to Y.O.U. 2018, however officials have not been able to access the funds until now, according to Steve Cordes, the agency’s CEO.
“They were the first significant funder to the table, our fundraising campaign was early on. So basically, we couldn’t access that money until we were further along in the project and ready to move forward on construction,” Cordes said on Monday.
“So for us now it’s new money, even though it was approved in 2018.”
Y.O.U. held a ceremony on Monday at its headquarters, located across from the Joan’s Place site, to publicize the funding and to mark the start of construction, expected to take 24 months.
Among those on hand were mayor-elect Josh Morgan, London North Centre MP Peter Fragiskatos, and other donors and supporters, including the family of Joan Smith, the facility’s namesake.
“The City of London is proud to invest in this critical project for London’s most vulnerable young people,” Morgan said in a statement.
“At a time when our community is experiencing a homelessness crisis, projects like this go a long way to ensuring more safe spaces for local youth, and access to the supports young families need to thrive.”
When it opens, Joan’s Place will have 39 affordable housing units and a youth wellness hub that will offer services and programs for young people, including mental health, addictions, employment and training.
The new centre will be named after Joan Smith, a former city councillor, MPP and the province’s first female solicitor general, who Y.O.U. describes as a “trailblazer for women and a tireless champion of the underdog.” The Smith family previously donated $1 million towards the project.
Speaking with Global News, Lynne Cram, Smith’s daughter, said it was exciting to see that construction had begun, adding that she was looking forward to the day when the centre can finally open.
“That will be the day… when those doors open in two years and welcome the first young families into their new homes,” Cram said.
“Their home will have all the support systems that they need, and that’s what’s so important for young mothers. We all know that. But they need it, and a lot of them, they’ll need the supports with their mental health and getting back on their feet.”
Y.O.U. officials say the facility will be able to serve more than 200 people daily, and the city’s donation will fund 35 of the affordable units.
“(I’m) so thrilled that we’re going to have a resource that’s there for families, because as rents have escalated and as precarious employment has become more of an issue, how do people pay for housing that they have when their rents are going up and so on?” said Cordes.
“If a parent is having to take on two jobs or whatever to support their rent, how are they actually setting aside time and energy to be the parent they want to be and they need to be?”
— with files from Global News’ Andrew Graham
Comments