People in need of housing will soon be at home under the roof of a new 32-unit supportive housing development in Guelph.
Driving to the ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 Shelldale Cres. Wednesday morning, the warden of the County of Wellington, Andy Lennox, said his usual speech was not going to cut it for the special occasion.
“I thought I need to do something to really mark the importance and gravity of today. The best idea I could come up with was that I should have stopped and bought a set of pom poms because we should be leading a cheer today,” Lennox said.
“It’s really a remarkable moment of achievement for all parties involved to get us to this point.”
With construction now complete, the permanent supportive housing development will be ready to welcome members of the Guelph community who experience chronic homelessness starting this summer.
Along with 32 independent units and common spaces, the development will include access to staff member support services, including those for mental health and addictions issues, to be available on-site 24/7 to help meet residents’ needs.
Managed by Kindle Communities with support from the Guelph Community Health Centre and Stonehenge Therapeutic Community, the project is set to provide a variety of wraparound services for residents.
The Kindle Communities initiative has received funding from various levels of government for construction, in addition to a public fundraising campaign, The Home for Good fundraising campaign passed the $1.5 million mark towards the project.
The development broke ground in September of 2022. City council approved zoning amendments needed for the project in May of 2021.
Land for the project was donated by Skyline Group of Companies and Starlight Investments, which contributed space behind apartments 85 and 89 Willow Rd.
Ontario’s deputy premier and minister of health, Sylvia Jones, praised the provincial government for its support of the project.
“This investment is to connect more people in the Guelph and Wellington region to supportive housing and high quality comprehensive mental health and addiction support services they need, when they need it, in your community,” Jones said.
Funding will also support the hiring of 16 new full-time healthcare positions aimed to support complex mental heath and addictions needs, access to primary care, withdrawal management, therapy, and community based services.
"This will ensure vulnerable people are supported while also preventing unnecessary visits to hospital emergency departments,” Jones said.
Guelph MP, Lloyd Longfield said 10 Shelldale Cres. is a great model of what a community can and should be.
“How can we create a culture of collaboration? Guelph does that really well in most areas, but there are still some areas we need to work on around mental heath and addictions, and in creating the housing that we need,” he said.
“It seems like we’ve been announcing this project and reannouncing it. But now, seeing the windows finished, and the signs on doors, we know that the project is alive. It’s got a pulse and it’s doing great things already in our community.”
Longfield believes the project is a community effort.
“It’s great to see the province at the table as well. We know that all of us are cheering on and will be more than that as we move forward,” he said.
Guelph’s mayor, Cam Guthrie ,reflected on the city’s efforts to match donations from the Home for Good fundraising campaign.
“We said we will give up to $500,000 for the campaign to try to raise money for projects like this if it’s a matching from the community,” Guthrie said.
"The campaign really came together. We turned $500,000 into well over $1 million."
Guthrie said the project offers the whole package.
"It combines housing and 24/7 supports on site. It's close to all the amenities that people need including transit, employment opportunities, and everything people need for success.”
Daria Allan-Ebron, CEO of Kindle Communities Inc. said it is the culmination of small moments that brings everyone together to celebrate.
“What an unbelievable act of generosity and commitment to this community,” Allan-Ebron said.
“We hope people at 10 Shelldale will feel that sense of safety and the absence of judgment. We have an ongoing commitment to end homelessness in our community and I really cant wait to see what we are going to accomplish next.”
10 Shelldale Crescent is one of three projects within the local Home for Good campaign, launched by the Guelph-Wellington Poverty Elimination Task Force, Guelph Community Foundation, and United Way Guelph-Wellington-Dufferin.
