New shelter for women, children expected to open next year after City of Windsor buys hotel

The head of an organization that will runWindsor's new shelter for women and families saysthe extra beds will mean the end of the "devastatingturn-away calls" the agency makeswhen it has run out of space.

"Hundreds of more women and families a year will have access toimmediate, safe, supported shelter space," said Lady Laforet, executive director of the Welcome CentreShelterfor Women and Families.

City officials announced the building of the new shelter, located atat 500 Tuscarora Street in the downtown,on Friday.

The city has entered into an agreement with the Welcome Centrethe to operate the facility.

Construction at the facility, aformer hotel, is expected to last until late March. The city hadbeen using the building as an COVID-19 emergency isolation and recovery shelter before it purchasedthe space. The province contributed$7.75 million to the projectthrough itsSocial Services Relief Fund.

"As a result of this acquisition, we are going to be able to create a safe, dedicated space to support this vulnerable population,"Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens said.

Laforetsaid she knows first hand the number of women and children who will benefit from the investment for years to come.

"The building behind me might look like simple bricks and mortar, but in reality this is really a showcase ... of how far we've come, not just as an agency but as a community in our responses to women and children and how they experience homelessness," she said.

The building will have upwards of 32 beds, Laforet said. Construction was expected to start next week but it hasbeen delayed because the buildingwill be used as an isolation centre for a fewmore weeksdue toa round of COVID-19 testing for those within the shelter system that was ordered by public health.