Province okays capital, operating dollars towards infrastructure for homeless

More than a half million dollars from the provincial government willhelp the homeless in Sudbury.

In May, the City of Greater Sudbury Sudbury submitted a proposal to the Ontario Ministry of Housing seeking support for the Home For Good program.

This week, Cindi Briscoe, manager of Sudbury's Housing Services shared the good news with city council. Sudbury has been approved for a two year capital and operating funding plan for the program.

The money will be used to renovate 200Larch Street, to turn it into a community hub of services for the homeless.

"This will provide [the homeless]with services right on site. So they won't have to go to multiple sites to access services, everything will be in like a one-stop shop area."

Briscoesays the city has never received operating dollars to make programs sustainable before.

"It's one of the first programs that we've received capital dollars, as well as operating dollars. That's a big piece to this funding model."

"With that operating component, it really steps up all of the services that we can provide to our homeless population, in order to ensure they are getting the appropriate services that they need," Briscoe says.

The partnership for thecommunity hubwill be between the city, the Canadian Mental Health Association and the North East Local Health Integration Network (LHIN).

She says the goal is to eventually establish supportive housing for the homeless in a four storey-38-unit apartment building.