After receiving approval to expand its number of homeless shelter beds from 19 to 30, A Place Called Home (APCH) in the Kawartha Lakes had a full house that night.
APCH recently announced that in partnership with the City of Kawartha Lakes, it was able to increase its shelter capacity to address the growing need for housing support in the community.
The expansion is geared at ensuring more people who are experiencing homelessness have access to safe and secure accommodations while they work towards their housing goals, APCH noted in a media release.
“While it doesn’t solve the problem of homelessness or offer long-term solutions, it does create some ease on the system and gets folks inside, ensuring that everyone is in a safe space while they work on permanent housing solutions,” APCH’s shelter manager Nicole Bryant told kawarthaNOW.
“We are lucky to have a great partnership with the City of Kawartha Lakes where we can be flexible and work together to create a cohesive safety net for individuals and families who find themselves without a home.”
When the shelter was rebuilt during the pandemic, its square footage was larger. It was built as a “pandemic proof” shelter, meaning that the square footage would allow for all 19 residents to remain in shelter, based on maintaining a six-foot distance from each other and meeting other public health requirements.
“We for sure had some space to spare and made the decision to up our capacity,” Bryant noted.
“APCH is always looking for further ways to help meet the needs of the community. The new shelter build came with an increased square footage allowing for a higher occupancy rate, which has never been something that was required until recently.”
According to Bryant, when the number of people needing space began to outweigh the number of beds available, APCH and the City of Kawartha Lakes began looking at ways to increase capacity.
“In pre-COVID times it was common to have one or two of our couches being used for overflow purposes, but post-COVID is an entirely different story,” Bryant explained. “We were literally bursting at the seams. The cost of rent and the absence of housing options brought us all to the table to discuss further solutions and possibilities.”
Additionally, APCH is working with the City of Kawartha Lakes to administer the “Out of the Cold” program.
“This life-saving initiative ensures that individuals and families have a safe place to stay when temperatures drop to dangerous levels or during extreme weather conditions,” APCH noted in the release.
According to APCH, since December 1 it has successfully moved 15 additional people into the safety of the shelter and made alternate arrangements to provide shelter for another nine people. As a result, there are 34 people who have shelter during cold and extreme weather conditions.
APCH is asking community members who may know someone in need of shelter to have them call 705-328-0905.
For more information about APCH, visit www.apch.ca.
