THUNDER BAY – A $200,000 shortfall has forced Shelter House officials to temporarily suspend its Street Outreach Service program.
The decision will take effect on April 1.
Launched in December 2014 as a four-month pilot project, the SOS program was designed to help the homeless, the publicly intoxicated and those living in homeless encampments through outreach, support and transportation.
Last year alone the organization provided 4,923 rides and gave out 21,696 amenities, including blankets, coats, food and water to those in need.
“We hope to minimize the impact on clients by timing the temporary suspension of SOS with the return of warmer weather,” Shelter House executive director Gary Mack said in a release issued on Tuesday afternoon. “The program will be reinstated in the later fall when the colder weather returns”
Mack added it was not an easy decision to make.
“Unfortunately we had no choice but to reduce services at this time,” he said. “Shelter House will continue to offer core services, providing for the basic needs, dignity and comfort of people living in poverty here in the city of Thunder Bay.”
