The YWCA St.Thomas-Elgin has unveiled its case support for Project Tiny Hope, an affordable housing partnership with Doug Tarry Homes and Sanctuary Homes.
Under the heading, “Now more than ever, our community needs affordable housing,” comes the following statistic, “The waitlist for subsidized housing is over 1100 households translating to a 5-10 year wait.”
Their support paper goes on to stress, “The new YWCA affordable housing community is more than just housing, it’s a new beginning.”
The YWCA provides housing for youth, women and men with five independent apartment units and 42 congregate living units within St. Thomas.
Project Tiny Hope will nearly double that number.
“Safe and stable housing is the foundation of a healthy and vibrant community,” advises Lindsay Rice, YWCA executive director.
“Project Tiny Hope will revitalize 21 Kains Street in the downtown core of St. Thomas and create a thriving community where youth, adults and families live and grow for years to come.”
The Inn, the city’s emergency shelter which opened back in January, has a new executive director.
Brian Elliot, who came on board last month, was employed in the same role previously with Habitat for Humanity Heartland Ontario.
He replaces interim executive director Pastor Cherisse Swarath.
In an interview with Elliot this week, we asked what is it about the emergency shelter and St. Thomas that attracted him to the position.
“I’ve been involved with non-profits, one way or another, my entire life and so I really saw The Inn as a place in St. Thomas that had been very progressive in trying to find longer-term solutions to the homeless situation.”
To minimize the number of homeless individuals in St. Thomas and Elgin, Elliot stresses the need to work with community partners.
“Habitat was all about families and, in some cases, individuals and helping them succeed. And The Inn is no different. We’re working with individuals and we’re finding the right supports and the right solutions to allow them to be more successful in their lives.
“I think there are a lot of similarities.”
A coalition of hunger relief organizations in Ontario says 2022 marked the sixth straight year that food banks in the province saw an increase in users and visits.
Feed Ontario says 587,000 adults and children visited the province’s food banks a total of 4.3 million times between April 1, 2021, and March 31, 2022.
An increase of 15 per cent over the last three years.
The organization says in its most recent annual report that the troubling trend appeared to escalate during the most recent year on record.
It’s no different at the St. Thomas Elgin Food Bank, confirms general manager Karen McDade.
“It is trending upward. It’s probably up since 2019 or even pre-COVID, 53 per cent the demand has gone up at the St. Thomas Elgin Food Bank, easily.”
And that increase in demand has resulted in a change in policy at the St. Thomas Elgin Food Bank, explains McDade.
“The cost of food, fuel, housing, it has just inflated so much that it is just very difficult for any of our clients to survive. We’ve stuck to a mandate of still doing the hampers that we hand out monthly, but instead of a 30-day timeframe, now it’s 21 days.”
McDade adds there are some weeks when the local food bank is helping to feed 400 to 500 people.
And that used to be the monthly total, she notes.
