Wellington County, Ont. and Guelph, Ont.- Recognizing that the winter weather presents additional risks to people experiencing homelessness in unsheltered areas and outdoors, Infrastructure Canada made one-time top-up funding available to communities. This additional funding aims to help people find a safer and more stable place to stay and to respond to the increased demand for services and supports during winter 2023-2024.
In late December, the County received one-time funding from Infrastructure Canada under Reaching Home. The County received $633,318 to use by April 30, 2024.
“On behalf of County Council, I would like to thank Infrastructure Canada for this critical funding,” said Warden Andy Lennox. “Housing and homelessness continue to be a top priority for Canadian municipalities. This generous funding will help the County support individuals who are experiencing or who are at risk of experiencing homelessness in the City of Guelph and Wellington County.”
This funding is intended to help people experiencing unsheltered homelessness find safe and a more stable place to stay this winter. This includes temporarily expanding shelter spaces, timelimited rent assistance; the provision of basic needs supplies; increasing service availability (e.g., meals, warming spaces); and purchasing cold weather supplies for those that continue to stay in unsheltered locations. It may also be used to cover travel costs for those accessing temporary shelter.
This funding will also be used for short-term food and emergency shelter assistance including:
- supporting individuals in accessing to shelters (travel), food banks, community health centres (for showering and laundry where possible)
- tangible supplies: clothing, footwear, blankets, personal hygiene items, sleeping bags, mittens, toques, etc.
- storage for belongings up to 3 months
- transportation to home community
- disability supports not covered through the Assistive Device Programme
“As the Service Delivery Manager for the City of Guelph and the County of Wellington, the County is grateful for this vital funding,” commented David Anderson, Chair of the County’s Social Services Committee. “Housing staff will bring a report forward to the March Social Services committee with details on how the funding is being used.”
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Media Contact:
Paul Skinner
Interim Director of Housing
T 519.824.7822 x 4690
E paulsk@wellington.ca