It's still unclear when the Exmouth Street overflow shelter in Sarnia will close, but capacity has been slightly reduced and county staff are reporting less traffic in the area.
The overflow shelter at the former Laurel-Lea St. Matthew's Presbyterian Church has been a contentious topic as several residents in the area have voiced health and safety concerns.
In November 2025, county staff set an optimistic goal to wind down operations this spring. However, in March, frustrations flared when a closing date could not be provided.
Since its last report in November 2025, the overflow shelter has seen an average occupancy rate of 80 per cent.
During Thursday's Lambton County Council meeting, Homelessness Prevention and Social Planning Manager Ian Hanney said shelter demand has modestly decreased.
"Historically, we have seen a modest decrease across the warm months on shelter demands, not significant," Hanney said. "I think staff would not expect it to be decreased enough that we could exclusively meet our shelter demands at the Good Shepherds Lodge."
Although a full closure is not recommended at this time, capacity at the overflow shelter has been reduced from 35 to 25 beds as male beds were being underutilized.
Hanney said efforts are underway to explore a new permanent replacement for the overflow shelter.
One potential alternative has been identified and preliminary discussions are focused on assessing feasibility. Staff will report back to council if the location is deemed viable.
The report to council said closing the overflow shelter would likely lead to more than 20 people moving into encampments across Sarnia, which would place added strain on most services such as the hospital, police, and EMS.
County staff also noted a decrease in traffic around the shelter since the HART Hub launched late last year.
Overall, Hanney said there is significant demand on the county's homelessness prevention system. Since fall 2025, the by-name list has experienced record high inflow, with approximately 60 individuals added per month, read a report to council.
"So overall, there's a significant demand on our system. At the same time, [strong] local housing outcomes have led to a modest decrease in shelter demand, hence our proactive step to reduce the number of beds at the overflow shelter," he said.
The report said moving individuals from homelessness into permanent housing remains difficult because of barriers, including high rent costs, low vacancy rates, documentation gaps, complex needs, and upfront costs.
