Bridging the homelessness gap in Sudbury

Sudbury -

Bridging the homelessness gap in Greater Sudbury

The city’s Off the Street Emergency Shelter has been running at capacity for the past couple of months.  And, to free up beds, it’s putting homeless people who meet criteria, up for temporarily housing in a local hotel.

It’s called the ‘Bridge Housing Program.’

“An individual that has secured a tenancy, let’s say January first or February first, and is occupying a shelter space would be linked up with one of our community navigators,” said Tyler Campbell, director of social services with the City of Greater Sudbury.

“The community navigator would assess them to make sure they have supports in place to be successful in the motel that we would offer them from a bridge housing perspective.”

Through the program, people experiencing homelessness who secure housing still get follow up to support a positive transition.

“It’s more than just putting a roof over someone’s head,” said Pam Naus, the coordinator of shelter services with the Canadian Mental Health Association.

“Everybody needs to have supports in order to be successful in a living environment. And so it’s really important to make sure that we are connecting to people. We are checking in on them to see if they need anything, making them aware of the resources that are available to them in a community.”

Thirteen agencies are collaborating with the city on a centralized list of people who need to find housing and support.

“All can share information about clients that have agreed to put their name on the 'By Name List' in order to connect them to supports, services and housing. And it ensures that the client only has to tell their story once to get the supports in place,” said Campbell.

The Bridge Housing Program is not funded by a tax levy. The city said it’s using social services relief funding from the province.