Long-awaited homeless shelter to open in Kenora

After years of delays and roadblocks, the northwestern Ontario city of Kenorais finally poised to open a long-awaited permanentshelter for the homeless.

The facility, which will be housed in a renovated portion of Knox United Church, is something service providers have been working towards for years, as the city made do with a patchwork of temporary solutions.

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It will start operating as an overnightemergency shelteron Feb. 1, and will officially open as a full service hub, and begin running 24/7 in March.

"It's wonderful news that's been a long-time coming," said Henry Wall, the CAO of the Kenora District Services Board.

"What we know is absolutely critical, and especially now in the extreme cold weather we've been having, ... is that we need to have something that provides a safe place to be for individuals, around the clock."

Full service hub

The 46-bed facility will provide more than a place for people to sleep, Wall said, explaining that it will house an industrial kitchen and a meal program. It will also be a hub for service providers a place where people can be connected tosupports, "whether it's mental health, whether it's with addictions services, or even life-skills programming, like learning how to make a meal."

The city has been without a permanent shelter since 2016, when a former shelter provider closed its program.

'Long time in the making'

The new facility will not only be a long-term solution, but it will alsobe the city's very first 24-hour shelter, said Patti Fairfield, the executive director of the Ne-CheeFriendship Centre, which will run the new facility.

Fairfield says after years of work, it feels "wonderful" to finally be ready to open the doors.

"You know it's been a long time in the making and lots of bumps in the road and things that we've encountered, but I don't think there's words to express how happy I am that we're finally going to see this service hub," she said.

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Three years ago, Fairfield said they didn't anticipate it would take as long as it did to set up the new facility. Anearly effort was thwarted by a city council decision regarding zoning restrictions, prompting themayor at the time to declare a state of emergencyover the lack of a shelter.

Most recently, temporary shelter was provided in the basement of the Northwestern Health Unit.

'Incredible high rate of homelessness'

Kenora has a high rate of homelessness. It's estimated that over 200 people are on the streets at any given time in the city, which has a population of about 15,000, Wall said.

When the new shelter was first being planned, they thought the 46 beds would be more than was needed.

"Unfortunately we're starting to predict that we may have built it just at capacity," he said."And it just speaks to the incredible high rate of homelessness in the community of Kenora and the surrounding region."

A grand opening for the still unnamed facility is planned for March 15, said Wall, adding that it will be an opportunity to thank community partners, the city and surrounding communities for their support.