65 Delhi Transitional Housing

What's Happening at 65 Delhi Street?

Front of building
A low angle shot of the new entrance to 65 Delhi under construction on a sunny day.
June 2024 update
Front of building rendering
Rendering
Front of building rendering
Rendering of new entrance

The County of Wellington is proposing the creation of a new Transitional Housing with Supports project at 65 Delhi Street in Guelph for up to 28 individuals.  

  • The building is currently vacant and the proposed Transitional Housing with Supports project will provide new housing opportunities for residents of Wellington-Guelph who are experiencing homelessness.
  • Historically, the building at 65 Delhi Street has had a community purpose, having been used as a satellite facility for the hospital and later as recreational space. The City of Guelph has no future use planned for the site and has sold the property to the County of Wellington to use for Transitional Housing with Supports (conditional on rezoning). 
  • The proposal does not call for any additions to the existing building. Proposed changes to the exterior are restricted to the addition of ramps to improve accessibility of the building and the addition of fire escapes to meet safety standards.
The County of Wellington
is committed to working with the community and project partners on an ongoing basis to address questions and concerns about the proposal.

What's New? Announcements about 65 Delhi Street

  • January 26, 2023: The County of Wellington County Council approved the design for 65 Delhi to go to tender as presented by architects. View the approved designs from the January 26 County Council meeting. 
  • September 13, 2022: The Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) reached a decision on the appeal, upholding the City of Guelph Council approval of zoning by-law amendments. 
  • August 2022: The Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) hearing took place regarding the appeal of City of Guelph Council approval of the proposal's zoning by-law amendment application.  
  • August 2021: An appeal of City of Guelph Council approval of the proposal's zoning by-law amendment application was filed with the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT). 
  • July 12, 2021: City of Guelph Council unanimously approved the proposal's zoning by-law amendment application for Transitional Housing with Supports for up to 28 individuals at 65 Delhi. Watch the recording of the July 12 City of Guelph Council meeting. 
  • July 9, 2021: On behalf of the County of Wellington, MHBC Planning submits request to the City of Guelph to revise the application to reflect a maximum of 28 supportive housing bedrooms. 
  • June 29, 2021: Virtual Information Session hosted by Ward 2 Councilors James Gordon and Rodrigo Goller. Watch the recording of the Virtual Information Session.
  • June 4, 2021: On behalf of the County of Wellington, MHBC Planning submits updates to application to City of Guelph in response to planning comments at the May 10, 2021 City of Guelph Council Meeting. Learn more about updates to the application.
  • May 10, 2021: City of Guelph held Statutory Public Meeting (virtually). Watch the recording of the May 10 City of Guelph Council meeting.
  • April 30, 2021: City of Guelph Staff Report available online.
  • April 20, 2021: City of Guelph Notice of Complete Application & Public Meeting to Amend the Zoning By-Law. Learn more about the application. 

Why is the County of Wellington involved?

The County of Wellington is one of 47 designated Service Managers who deliver Housing, Ontario Works and Children's Early Years services on behalf of the province of Ontario in a specific geographic area. For the County, the geographic area includes the City of Guelph and the County of Wellington.

The County is involved with this project as part of our responsibilities to plan and manage housing services which includes the delivery and administration of provincially mandated social and affordable housing programmes, as well as initiatives to prevent and address homelessness. 

The Ontario Planning Act Planning Processes

The City of Guelph's Zoning By-law acts as a legal tool under Ontario's Planning Act to regulate the use of land and future development in the City. The Planning Act allows the City of Guelph, through zoning, to determine exactly what land uses are permitted and provides detailed requirements that permitted land uses must follow. The City of Guelph's Zoning By-law complements the City’s official plan and is needed to help implement the official plans goal, objectives and policies. 

When a proposed development does not align with the existing Zoning By-law, a Zoning By-law amendment, also known as a rezoning, is required.

Zoning does: permit specific land uses on a property and includes specific regulations that development on the site must adhere to (e.g., limitations on height of new buildings).

Zoning does not: regulate who can live in a building or residence; whether the building is owner-occupied or a rental property or, how the building is operated.

See the City of Guelph "Participate in city planning" webpage for more information.

A PLACE TO CALL HOME:

A 10-year Housing and Homelessness Plan for Wellington-Guelph

Housing and Homelessness Plans (HHPs) play a critical role in how Service Managers take action to address housing needs as well as prevent and respond to homelessness locally. 

VISION: "Everyone in Wellington-Guelph can find and maintain an appropriate, safe and affordable place to call home."

The proposed transitional housing with supports at 65 Delhi Street aligns with multiple objectives from A PLACE TO CALL HOME: A 10-year Housing and Homelessness Plan for Wellington-Guelph:

  • OBJECTIVE 3: To offer a comprehensive range of supportive housing options for residents with complex needs due to aging, disabilities, mental health issues and addictions
  • OBJECTIVE 5: To end chronic homelessness
  • OBJECTIVE 6: To promote client-centred, coordinated access to the housing and homelessness system 

The County of Wellington Housing Services - Our Mission:  

To ensure effective, efficient and fair provision of high quality affordable housing to residents of Wellington County and City of Guelph.

The County of Wellington Housing Services strives to create innovative solutions to local housing needs, in an atmosphere of cooperation with our tenants and the local community.

The Wellington-Guelph Housing Continuum and our Housing Programmes

The Wellington-Guelph Housing Continuum illustrates the spectrum of housing options along with local housing programmes across this spectrum. In brief and following along the continuum, our housing programmes include: homelessness prevention strategies such as shelter diversion and emergency housing; rapid rehousing programme (transitional housing) and scattered site supports (supportive housing) programmes as well as rent-geared-to-income units (community housing); capital grants, loans and rent subsidies (affordable housing) and finally, homeownership grants and loans. 

The Wellington-Guelph Housing 

Image
Housing Continuum

The Proposed Transitional Housing with Supports Project at 65 Delhi Street in Guelph could occupy an important place in the Wellington-Guelph Housing Continuum. Currently there are no dedicated transitional housing with supports facilities for adults 25+ years of age. 



What is Transitional Housing with Supports?

Transitional Housing with Supports provides an intermediate step between emergency crisis shelter and permanent housing. Transitional Housing with Supports provides individuals with a safe place to stay temporarily along with a programme of individualized support services such as counselling, job training and placement, community activities, and help with life skills. Facilities are targeted to those in need of structure, support and/or skill building, in order to move from homelessness to housing stability and ultimately prevent a return to homelessness.

For communities like ours, with low vacancy rates and a lack of affordable housing, a dedicated Transitional Housing with Supports project would provide a much needed option to better support individuals in their journey to being permanently housed. The proposed project complements existing Rapid Rehousing and Scattered Sites Supports.  

Research demonstrates that without a Transitional Housing with Supports option, individuals waiting for permanent housing can become discouraged and disengage from services; lack housing stability and experience increased emotional distress and worsening physical and/or mental health.


How are we working to End Chronic Homelessness in Wellington-Guelph by 2023?

Our Service Manager role include planning responsibilities, resource allocation, quality assurance and service provision to prevent and address homelessness.

The Housing Stability Working Group (HSWG) is a community group of service providers that we meet with regularly to improve the continuity of care for people experiencing homelessness with the highest complexity of needs, by developing a strategic case plan with relevant stakeholders.

We take seriously our goal to end chronic homelessness in our communities by 2023. 

Built for Zero (BFZ)

Image
Built for Zero Canada Logo

We are the lead for the Wellington-Guelph Built for Zero-Canada (BFZ-C) Campaign, a national movement to end chronic homelessness and has received national recognition for system change work in the homelessness sector. 

Wellington-Guelph Coordinated Entry System (CES)

The Wellington-Guelph Coordinated Entry System (CES) was implemented in early 2017 with the goal to improve coordination and service delivery by providing a consistent approach to understanding the needs of individuals experiencing homelessness. Watch our new CES video! 

The Wellington-Guelph By-Name List (BNL)

In late 2017, Wellington-Guelph was the 4th community in Canada to establish a quality By-Name List (BNL) and is managed by the County of Wellington.

A BNL is a real-time list of all people experiencing homelessness in Wellington-Guelph. The BNL helps service providers prioritize need, track the status change as individuals and families move in and out of homelessness and inform action as we move towards ending chronic homelessness in our community. 


Transforming the Homeless Serving System in Wellington-Guelph 

Together with our homeless service system partners we are working to address the challenges that exist within current systems to meet the needs of individuals experiencing homelessness in our community. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted these challenges, and has accelerated the pace of system change.

How can I learn more about the proposal?

  1. Review the information in our FAQs section below.
  2.  View recordings of City of Guelph Council meetings and our Virtual Information Session (see links at top of page).
  3. Reach out and ask us a question: email

Frequently Asked Questions

There is a great deal of interest in the proposal - we thank you for bringing forward your comments and concerns. We value your input and are committed to working with the community and project partners to address questions and concerns about the proposal.

We've been listening and have pulled together a series of questions and answers that respond to many of the issues we have discussed over a number of different conversations with community members. We want to do our best to ensure the community has accurate information about the project.