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New location, new concerns for SafeSpace London

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SafeSpace London — an organization that advocates for and supports women in the sex trade — has moved from a smaller location near the corner of Hamilton Road and Rectory Street, to the former Scotiabank site on the corner of Dundas and Lyle streets.

"The biggest change is that we are actually able to have people inside...[as] our previous location [was] far too small. [The] need [is] too high, [and we] could not safely have everybody inside,” said Executive Director, Jenna Rose Sands.

SafeSpace also now has the space to hold onto and distribute items that have been donated.

"We are seeing a greater need for, you know, children's items, diapers. We used to have those donated and we'd pass them along to agencies,” said Sands. "Now, we keep a lot of those families, you know, multi-generational folks coming, families coming in to seek supports.”

Ward 4 City Coun. Susan Stevenson visited the open house on Saturday, and has concerns about the readiness of the facility.

“We were told $650,000 for a women's shelter with 20 beds in 24/7 drop in. And I haven't heard, but my understanding is it's just a few afternoons and evenings and no beds,” she said.

Stevenson said she was told there has been a logistical issue in procuring the beds, but they will be added when available.

“I would still like to know how much money is being spent, how much has been spent so far, and what's the projected plan for it, knowing this was a temporary thing,” she said.

Sands said the first few weeks will be spent doing outreach to ensure those who have been supported in the past and those who are looking for support now, know where the new location is.

“I think it's going to be a bit of a slow crawl as folks are sort of sussing out things,” she explained. “Our teams are going to go out with outreach to start seeking out and reminding folks...‘Hey, we're over here.’”

According to the SafeSpace London website, the support centre drop in hours are from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m., and from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. 

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