There is already a waiting list for Huron County’s winter homeless shelter. Fourteen motel beds funded by the County were all occupied on night one of the new program that began on Nov. 1.
“I was actually at the motel this morning at 9 a.m., and everyone was happy, and already at our office ready to chat,” said Huron-Perth’s Housing Supervisor for the Canadian Mental Health Association Ashley Carter.
For the past four winters, Huron’s unhoused could find refuge in the basement of Lakeshore United Church in Goderich.
This winter, some of Huron’s homeless will be housed in motel rooms in Goderich.
Only 14 rooms are available, but at its peak, only 15 people a night were getting out of the cold at Lakeshore United Church.
“It wasn’t really meeting the needs of the individuals fully, and we felt switching to a 24 [hour] a day model will provide some safety, more time for engagement, and more personal space. It’s just more intentional in the work we’re trying to do around homelessness in Huron County,” said Huron County’s Manager of Housing Services, Christine Hoffman.
That intentional work is to get people off the streets and out of tents in wooded areas permanently, and into a place of their own.
Over four winters of the overnight church model, more than 26 individuals were permanently housed. The hope is that the motel room model will bump up those numbers that find permanent shelter.
“Having the opportunity to meet with staff during business hours, other community partners who are also open during the day, affords the opportunity for folks to move from survival mode and really start to focus on the hope that there is something different available for them, and housing is possible within our community,” said Elise Metcalf, Housing and Congregate Care manager with Huron-Perth’s Canadian Mental Health Association.
Huron County’s “By-Name” unhoused list puts the number of self-identifying homeless in Huron County at 92, but previous estimates had the number as high as 170. Whatever the real count is, everyone agrees it’s a number that’s growing.
“In my humble opinion, housing is a basic human right and we need to find our way to make sure the most vulnerable in our community stay safe and are afforded the same opportunities as others,” said Metcalf.
“If I were to say what would be success in the end, it would be to have everyone housed and supported, where they are at. In the interim, this is a solution that we envision as a stepping stone to hopefully getting there,” said Hoffman.
Huron’s Out of the Cold motel model homeless program is being funded by Huron County, but operated by Huron-Perth’s Canadian Mental Health Association.
Part of the reason for the switch from the overnight church model to the motel model was staffing and finding enough willing and able to work overnights.
Hoffman said moving to the motel model will bring Huron County’s yearly homeless budget to $860,000, a slight increase from last year’s budget.
