Expansion of a downtown shelter, which is running several months behind schedule, received a funding boost on Friday, courtesy of the federal government.
Ahmed Hussen, Minister of International Development, stopped by Stepping Stone’s shelter at 23 Gordon St. on Friday morning to announce $2.6 million in funding for the project, which is expected to cost nearly $5 million.
“When we all work together, across different orders of government, we can bring real solutions to the housing crisis and make progress one project at a time,” he said, speaking on behalf of Sean Fraser, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities. “It takes a lot of players to get these projects done.”
Hussen is a former federal housing minister.
The dollars come through the government’s affordable housing fund.
“A lot of the money we provide is meant to support the priorities and the plans of local governments,” Hussen said.
Renovation efforts are already underway at the building, which continues to operate as a shelter each night after construction crews are done for the day.
The project will see a third storey added to the structure, located just south of Nottingham Street, bringing the shelter to 51 beds in all, along with 12 transitional housing units.
“This is one piece of a big challenge,” commented MP Lloyd Longfield, referring to issues of homelessness.
The expansion plan was approved by the city’s committee of adjustment in January. At that time, it was expected to cost $3.94 million and be ready to open this coming February.
The project is now expected to be completed by next summer.
GuelphToday reached out to the County of Wellington for a breakdown of funding sources for the shelter expansion and received the following response:
"Due to communication protocols from funding partners, we are unable to discuss additional funding associated with this project at this point in time."
Despite the delay, the project is on track to meet its $4.96 million budget, the county spokesperson said.
“In my mind, I’m really prepared for winter of 2025 because we know winter is our pressure point, and knowing that that will be my goal in running Stepping Stone,” Gail Hoekstra, the agency’s executive director, told GuelphToday.
The delay, she explained, is largely due to supply chain issues for needed materials.
A large part of the work to-date, she noted, has been to increase the building’s ability to support the weight of an additional level.
“By the end of 2025, the goal is that we can have a spot for everyone on the by-name list and make sure we're handling the inflow of homelessness and continuing to work with landlords, private market, permanent supportive housing, transitional housing options to get people on the outflow to a place to go,” said Hoekstra, speaking of local of homelessness efforts generally.
“And I really think, as a community, we can do it. And it's not just about housing, but people need the resources to take care of their health, their well-being, and they need to be part of a community in which they belong.”
