GUELPH ‒ Stepping Stone will soon be adding 38 emergency shelter spaces in and around Guelph as a county committee approved spending $150,000 on Wednesday to address a growing need from those experiencing homelessness.
This was approved at Wednesday’s County of Wellington social services committee meeting where attendees heard of a rise in usage of emergency shelter spaces requiring the reopening of sites at 1 Waterloo Ave. and on Highway 6.
According to a report, January to June 2023 saw an average of 105 individuals accessing emergency shelters on a nightly basis, with numbers continuing to increase each month.
From 2019 to 2022, that number rose from 52 to 79.
There has also been a rise in the number of families experiencing homelessness, increasing from an average of four to 20 from 2022 to 2023.
“Families are also needing emergency shelter services for longer periods of time due to the scarcity of available rental units,” said the report. “The decrease in available spaces in motels and rising rates have made it more difficult to accommodate families in motels.”
Therefore, housing director Mark Poste said at the meeting $150,000 was needed right away to reopen the emergency shelter sites formerly operated by Stepping Stone and shuttered at the beginning of the pandemic with services transferred to 23 Gordon St. and 540 Silvercreek Pkwy.
The Waterloo Avenue site would operate 24 hours as a substance use-free family shelter with space for 16 and the Highway 6 location would operate for 12 hours as a substance use-free male emergency shelter with space for 22.
Currently, there are 27 permanent emergency shelter spaces at 23 Gordon St. and more than 50 temporary spaces at 540 Silvercreek Pkwy. N.
The $150,000 in funding would go towards Stepping Stone to support staffing costs associated with reopening these spaces and operating them from October to December 2023.
The committee was supportive of providing the funding with Guelph mayor Cam Guthrie noting this shows leadership by both the county and city by taking swift action outside of a usual budget cycle.
“It just shows that you’re taking the matter appropriately for the urgency that it is,” Guthrie said. “It’s not five bedrooms opening here, there’s a lot of beds. This is really good work.”
This will require ratification by the full county council at a meeting later this month.
