One City Peterborough is receiving $200,000 from the United Way of Peterborough & District to support renovations to the Trinity Centre, the new community hub for people experiencing homelessness located at the former Trinity United Church at 360 Reid Street.
The United Way of Peterborough & District administers funds locally for “Reaching Home,” the federal government’s homelessness strategy aimed at preventing and reducing homelessness across Canada. The community-based program provides funding to urban, Indigenous, rural, and remote communities to help them address their local homelessness needs.
In June, the United Way issued a call for proposals for the latest round of Reaching Home funding. A community advisory board of community members with knowledge of the local homelessness system reviewed a number of applications, and selected proposals from One City Peterborough, Nogojiwanong Friendship Centre, and Peterborough Drug Strategy to receive the available funding.
In addition to the $200,000 for One City Peterborough, Nogojiwanong Friendship Centre is receiving $51,957, and Peterborough Drug Strategy is receiving $12,950.
“We are working to reduce homelessness and housing insecurity by making targeted investments in local initiatives,” says Sean Fraser, federal minister of housing, infrastructure and communities, in a media release. “Through the United Way, One City Peterborough, Nogojiwanong Friendship Centre, and Peterborough Drug Strategy are addressing systemic issues in Peterborough and helping to ensure people in the community have a safe and secure place to call home.”
One City Peterborough will receive $200,000 for renovations to the former Trinity United Church that are necessary for it to be used as a service location for local homelessness and social programs. Renovations include updating walls and doors to meet fire code requirements, installing air conditioning, updating washrooms, and upgrading the kitchen to commercial grade.
Nogojiwanong Friendship Centre will receive $51,957 in funding to increase its capacity to provide housing support to Indigenous people who are currently or at risk of experiencing homelessness by hiring a housing coordinator to help unhoused people secure housing, as well as helping people who are at risk of losing their housing by providing landlord communication and advocacy, emergency support such as food and clothing, and financial literacy services.
Peterborough Drug Strategy will receive $12,950 in funding for a community symposium on housing and homelessness that will bring together people with lived and living experience of homelessness, people who work in the homelessness serving sector, and decision makers. Through presentations and workshops, participants will work together to determine what gaps currently exist within the community’s homelessness response and to identify priority action items and opportunities for further collaboration to collectively address systemic issues related to homelessness in Peterborough.
“Although this funding period only runs until March 31st, 2024, these projects will each create deep, long-lasting impacts in our community,” says United Way Peterborough and District CEO Jim Russell. “The three funding recipients complement one another as well as the existing community programs to ensure that we minimize gaps in service delivery.”
The $264,907 in Reaching Home funding provided to the three organizations is in addition to ongoing Reaching Home partnerships the United Way has with other local organizations including the John Howard Society of Peterborough, Elizabeth Fry Society of Peterborough, the Canadian Mental Health Association of Haliburton, Kawartha, and Pine Ridge, Fourcast, and YES Shelter for Youth and Families.
