The overflow shelter on Exmouth Street may not be closing this year as originally planned.
The shelter is now expected to stay open until a proposed expansion and renovation is completed at The Good Shepherd's Lodge.
The Lodge on Confederation Street was built in 2010, and is operated by the Inn of the Good Shepherd. It currently has 25 beds and two private family rooms.
Lambton County General Manager of Social Services Melissa Fitzpatrick said rather than identifying a new location within the City of Sarnia for a permanent shelter, county staff have identified The Lodge as an alternative option.
She said a feasibility study was conducted by Glos Arch + Eng, and determined it is a viable project on the existing site.
"So the expansion of The Lodge operation, it's really one dorm room, so if you're facing The Lodge from Confederation Street it would be the east side of the building," said Fitzpatrick. "It's one dorm room on that side, a little bit of office space and some interior renovations of existing space, so being able to convert an existing boardroom into a female dorm. Using their creativity and their expertise, the net result is 1,700 square feet that falls within building code requirements."
Lambton County's Committee of the Whole approved a staff recommendation Wednesday, to provide a grant of over $988,000 from the Affordable Housing Reserve to fund the expansion project.
The grant would also be conditional on The Inn also entering into a restrictive covenant agreement, in which it agrees not to use the facility for any purpose other than as a minimum of 60 emergency shelter bed and transitional housing spaces for a period of no less than 25 years.
If approved, the project would take about 12 to 14 months to complete, including about six months of construction.
The staff report said the project could reasonably be completed by the Fall of 2027.
"It's is the intention once The Lodge expansion project is complete, it will result in the closure of the overflow shelter," said Fitzpatrick. "However, closing it prematurely, as we all can appreciate, there is not enough capacity at The Lodge on its own to meet demand. So, we will need to maintain that for the foreseeable future to meet shelter need."
The overflow shelter at the former Laurel-Lea St. Matthew's Presbyterian Church was originally expected to begin wind down operations this spring.
Fitzpatrick said over the last couple of months, there has been a drop in traffic at the site.
"The usage is on average for the past couple of months around 15 people a night," she said. "Of course, given the time of the month it could be a few more or a few less. Certainly, activity is significantly lower than it was this time last year."
It was also recommended, if the project is approved, that staff would provide Lambton County Council with quarterly updates on its status.
