Niagara Falls City Council has agreed to kick in $10,000 to help cover the costs of extending the city's overnight shelter for another month.
Angela Peebles, a local restaurant owner who has spent much of the winter making meals for some of the city's homeless population urged council to start looking for a longer term solution, "in the long term, we need to start discussions about taking a hard reduction approach to this crisis, we need to be looking at a permanent shelter, detox and addictions services, overdose prevention sites and more mental health supports."
The current shelter, operated by Project Share out of St. Andrew's church on Morrison Street is part of a two year pilot project funded by the Niagara Region.
It's been in operation since November and was slated to close at the end of this month.
The city's financial contribution will help cover Project Share's staffing costs.