'A place to call home': New supportive housing project in Guelph nearly finished

A new supportive housing project in Guelph that will offer some of the city's unhoused population with housing and 24/7 supports on siteis expected toopen by the end of the year.

Construction at10 Shelldale Cres. isexpected to wrap up at the end of December. Once it's done, the building will include 32 bachelor-style units and include someaccessible units. The main floor will have a communal space, a kitchenand clinics.

"These are people we have been working with for a long time and have seen the impacts that experiencing homelessness has on their health outcomes," said Melissa Kwiatkowski, CEO ofGuelph Community Health Centre (GCHC).

"People are visiting the emergency department more than they need to be because they're in crisis. This is going to provide the supports needed to help give them the dignity of their own place to live and the supports to maintain that."

Kwiatkowskisaid supports on site "will look at thewhole person,"offeringeverything from physical to mental health and substance use supports, to food and recreation programs.

She addedthere willbe opportunities for community building through the Shelldalefarm park and community gardens.

Kwiatkowskisaid10 Shelldale Cres. is the third supportive housing buildingin Guelph that will offer24/7 supports on site, but whatmakes this building unique is the partnership between GCHCandStonehenge Therapeutic Community Kindle Communities.

Kindle Communities owns the building and will be in charge of maintaining it.GCHC and Stonehenge Therapeutic Community will operate the programing on site.

"We wanted to partner with them because this is an amazing model to provide the whole health and other range of services for the tenants who will live in this building," saidDaria Allan-Ebron, CEO of Kindle Communities.

"We know that we have a community that has been in crisis and this building will provide a space for people to call home."