A program that started during the pandemic with an aim of getting people off the street is set to conclude at the end of August.
The Region of Waterloo says provincial funding for motel rooms as a shelter option has run dry.
It means around of 50 people who are still in motel rooms will need to find a new place to live, or risk ending up in a shelter or on the street.
According to the region, the use of motels for homelessness was never meant to be a long-term plan.
“Motel stays are intended as a temporary arrangement,” Peter Sweeney, commissioner of community services for the region, said, in part, in an emailed statement.
“Some of our service providers use motel spaces, from time to time, as a short-term measure to accommodate seasonal demands. In response to COVID-19, a number of motel rooms were added to our emergency shelter capacity with pandemic funding, which we no longer receive.”
That funding from the province was cut off in December of last year.
The region says it has cost them $125,000 to $150,000 per month to keep the program running for the last eight months, putting the region’s bill at around $1 million during that period.
The region says there are currently about 50 people still in motel rooms.
Sweeney said the goal is to support them from a housing first lens and move them toward alternative housing options.
“We are working with multiple providers who are focused on developing housing plans with individuals currently staying at motels to move them into appropriate shelter in order to provide wrap-around supports and service connections,” he said.
A BETTER TENT CITY ALREADY OVER CAPACITY
Nadine Green with A Better Tent City says the tiny home community is already over capacity, and she is concerned people will have nowhere to turn.
“So, I'm worried that if they are kicked out, they have nowhere to go, and a lot of them don't want to go into the shelter system,” said Green.
Green says this move will put more people back on the street.
“I've had people telling me that they're going to go to Victoria and Weber,” Green said, referencing the encampment in Kitchener.
