The transition from the Travelodge into a new emergency homeless shelter at former Chatham school is now complete.
All services and programs were moved out of the hotel and into Victoria Park Place, which is known as the former Victoria Park public school building at 185 Murray Street.
Despite a few challenges, Director of Employment and Social Services Polly Smith said the transition went well.
"We had to have all hands on deck," said Smith. "We had a flood over the long weekend which caused a lot of damage to one of our congregate spaces. We had to rework a lot of things and it was a lot of effort to move in but everyone came together to move in."
According to Smith, the finishing touches on the building are being worked on and programs at the shelter are being finalized too.
"Now that we have space and are able to have more services on-site, we are getting set up for those," said Smith. "There's a lot happening over there but we were able to get in on time with all of the required work done."
The shelter was set to have space for 50 emergency beds but because of the flood, there is now space for 48 beds, as well as the space for community agencies.
"You can't do something of this magnitude on such a shoestring budget without the owners of the building making it happen," said Smith. "All of the contractors, subcontractors, and municipal colleagues. Everyone has bent over backward to make this happen."
The municipality has a lease agreement with a group of local investors for the building until May 31, 2025. The agreement includes paying a nominal fee of $1 plus the costs of necessary leasehold improvements, insurance, utilities, and maintenance.
