How London, Ont. plans to use remote golf courses as winter homeless shelters
With cold weather approaching, City Hall has finally unveiled its new plan to address unsheltered homelessness this winter.
Similar to last winter, construction trailers will be converted into heated living quarters, but the locations will be much more remote, requiring on-site resources and transportation options for residents.
“We know that where we were located last year had many benefits, but it also had many detractors,” admits Kevin Dickins, deputy city manager of Social and Health Development at City Hall.
Currently, about 120 people are living ‘unsheltered’ in tents or makeshift shelters in London.
The three-pronged strategy will provide 100 to 105 overnight spaces between December and March:
- Drop-in Spaces (0-8 hrs)
- Stabilization Spaces (24-72 hrs)
- Winter Shelter (up to 4 months)
Two temporary winter shelters housing 30-35 people each will be located at municipal golf courses.
Atlohsa Family Healing Services will operate the shelter for Indigenous people in trailers at the former River Road Golf Course near Veteran’s Memorial Parkway.
A rapid rehousing shelter for 30-35 people will also utilize construction trailers and the clubhouse at Fanshawe Golf Course in the city’s northeast corner.
“It’s not all that inviting to be homeless on main street London,” explains Dickins, when asked about the remote locations. “We know there is a group of people experiencing homelessness who want spaces that are a little more discreet than last year, more private.”
The temporary shelter spaces will operate until March 31, except for Fanshawe Golf Course which will close March 1, 2022.
“We are not bussing the homeless out of London, by any stretch of the imagination, we are creating a safe place for people to go,” asserts Dickins.
And while neither location is directly served by sidewalks or bike lanes, the city’s Director of Housing Stability Services Craig Cooper explains that last winter most residents remained in place.“We did not see a lot of individuals specifically leave the space during the day or even overnight,” Cooper says.
London Transit bus service is available at the River Road Golf Course, but does not reach Fanshawe Golf Course.
Both sites will also offer a shuttle service for residents.
“They are not stuck out there. There are resources coming to them. There are options coming to get them into the community so they won’t have to walk.”
The Winter Homelessness Response will also offer shorter stays at more central locations.
The YMCA on Waterloo Street will offer a mix of day and night shelter spaces at a new drop-in this winter.
The Canadian Mental Health Association will offer five to 10 stabilization spaces on Hamilton Road for people requiring mental health or addiction treatment as an alternative to emergency rooms or jail.
The $1.9 million winter homelessness response is funded by the provincial and federal governments.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.