THUNDER BAY — When council set aside $5 million to build a temporary shelter village, it was with the hope that provincial and federal funding would come through to cover that amount – and now it has, in part.
The city is getting $2.8 million in funding though the Thunder Bay District Social Services Board to cover some operational and capital costs for the project.
City manager John Collin said the new funding means $2.4 million less will taken from reserves, which will cover nearly half the estimated cost of building the shelter village.
“We're not done yet asking for other people's money to help with what we consider to be a very important initiative for this city,” Collin told Newswatch.
The city has yet to approve a site for the temporary shelter village. Collin said he anticipates a report will be put forward for council’s decision in early April.
There is a rush to approve a location and getting the shelter village built as city staff anticipate a higher volume of unhoused individuals will move into encampments in the spring as weather improves and emergency winter shelter programs wind down.
Back in October, City council voted unanimously to approve a ten-part human rights-based community action plan for responding to homeless encampments, which included a temporary village initiative.
Two proposed sites were identified, Kam River Heritage Park and a vacant lot at 114 Miles St. East.
However, after public backlash, Council voted against these proposed locations and asked administration to bring them an extensive site selection list of all potential sites across the city.
Collin said that city staff worked closely with DSSAB to provide them with all the information they would need to get access the provincial Encampment Response Initiative funding stream to help the city cover operational costs and capital costs for the shelter village.
“The provincial government established a funding stream to deal specifically with homeless and encampments. For our region, the only entity that was authorized to apply for that funding stream was the DSSAB,” said Collin.
