THUNDER BAY — Some full-time staff at Shelter House Thunder Bay aren't earning a living wage, and are now using food banks to get by.
Executive director Cal Rankin said the inability to retain qualified workers threatens the shelter's ability to maintain the current level of services.
"The perfect storm has been brewing and we are currently facing a crisis that is threatening our very core," Rankin stated Tuesday.
He said Shelter House gets most of its funding from the city and the District of Thunder Bay Social Services Administration Board.
"We're talking with them, and I appreciate all the support they give us already, however at this date we have no commitment from anyone to increase funding. That's really posing to be a problem here," he said.
Shelter House has a budget of over $2 million, of which over 70 per cent is funded by the social services board.
Ken Ranta, the board's director of integrated social services for the social services board, declined immediate comment on the funding request Tuesday, saying details of the housing and homelessness prevention plan for this year have not been approved yet.
In a statement, he said the plan aims to impact "the full spectrum of the housing continuum" from absolute homelessness to private market housing for people of all ages and varying degrees of abilities.
Ranta said the board continues to work with its emergency shelter partners to support the homelessness prevention plan.
"Over the past three years we have seen a general reduction in the number of emergency shelter bed-nights used, influenced by a number of diversion and support programs in place," he stated.
"In 2022, more than 60 high-needs homeless individuals were transitioned into more stabilized housing," he said, adding that the long-term goal is to reduce the pressures on emergency shelters.
Shelter House currently provides three services — a sheltering program, a feeding program and a managed alcohol program.
Clients are allowed to remain in the building throughout the day if they choose.
"We may have to suspend that type of service, so that we have to close the doors for eight hours and ask the clients to leave the shelter to allow us to reduce staffing and save money," Rankin said.
"The risk is that we would have an additional 62 people on the street, seeking shelter and other services, or just in general living their lives on the street during the day...The feeding program that we run during the day would be affected because we wouldn't have staff, and we would have to go to one meal a day."
Shelter House ordinarily provides three meals a day for its live-in clients, and two meals daily for 100 or more other at-risk community members.
Rankin said the immediate way to prevent that is to find a way to pay staff a better wage.
"There's a huge disparity with what other organizations in the same sector are paying. We can train people or hire people, but they leave very quickly because their job market is very tough."
He said it's important to understand the stress that shelter workers are under daily.
"The homelessness landscape has changed in a big way. The work is more challenging than before. Substance use has always been an issue, but the choices of substance are causing more problems. People can become more volatile easily. The staff are being put at risk. It's a tough job to do and people need to be paid appropriately to do it."
Matawa First Nations management spoke out Tuesday on behalf of Shelter House, and called for action to address its funding, staffing and food shortage challenges.
President Rosemary Moonias also announced a $20,000 contribution to Shelter House, describing it as an emergency interim measure to help prevent a reduction in services.
"As the cost of living rises and affordable housing becomes less of a priority to governments, things are only going to get worse," Moonias said. "I am also challenging other organizations in Thunder Bay to consider making investments to Shelter House."
In recent months, various Matawa programs have also provided over $16,000 in food supports to Shelter House.
Back in 2018, Matawa First Nations Management invested $20,000 in the Shelter House street outreach van.
That service was discontinued last year for lack of funding.
