Niagara looking to open two yearround permanent homeless shelters

By Bonnie Heslop

Published: June 8, 2023 at 8:18 PM

Unhoused residents adjust their shelter under the Gardiner Expressway in Toronto on Tuesday January 31, 2023 as the coldest weather in years arrives. A precedent setting legal ruling in Kitchener, Ontario on the eviction of unhoused encampments will see a wave of legal challenges starting in other cities. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank GunnTHE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

A big change is coming to the way Niagara houses the homeless.

The Region is planning to replace its seasonal homeless shelters in St. Catharines and Niagara Falls with permanent facilities.

Cathy Cousins, Director of Homelessness Services and Community Engagement, tells CKTB they have received $9.6 million dollars in new funding from the Ontario government to help make shelters year-round and 24/7.

The two seasonal shelters closed in April, leaving a large gap in the system for people in need of a place to live.

Officials are looking for a permanent location in St. Catharines, while the seasonal location on Summer Street in Niagara Falls, will most likely be that city's location.

Cousins says there are many benefits to having permanent shelters running year round, including offering people full time jobs to work at the shelters.

She says they will also offer more flexibility for homeless residents who need somewhere to go in the daytime to escape the extreme heat or cold.

She says the funding will ensure the new locations, which they are planning to open in the fall, will last them three years in operating costs.