North Bay’s low-barrier shelter to reopen early August
The low-barrier homeless shelter on Chippewa Street in North Bay is reopening at the beginning of August.
The shelter closed at the beginning of summer due to health and safety concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mark King, District of Nipissing Social Services Administration Board chair, confirmed the city's shelter will be open again Aug. 1.
"It was the best possible method that we could use at that time,” said King.
He said people accessing services at the shelters were temporarily put in motels where they had their own private room due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the homeless community.
"In the past what happened at the low-barrier shelter when it was open and dealing with the COVID outbreak through the whole system, paramedics did actually attend and did immunize people," said King.
The Crisis Centre North Bay oversees operations at the low-barrier shelter. CTV News reached out to the crisis centre, however, our calls were not returned.
"The crisis centre is ready to move into the low-barrier shelter," said King.
The North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit never declared a COVID-19 outbreak in the homeless population due to a perceived spike in stigma. However, those who oversaw a tent city were told by the health unit to keep the encampment open due to several COVID-19 cases spreading in the homeless population.
"We did our best to contain the outbreak but we had to let them out every so often so they could get their methadone and stuff like that," said Terri-Lynn Stevens, HOPE’s outreach manager who helped oversee the tent city operations.
Stevens said she hopes reopening the shelter will help resolve some issues for homeless people.
"It put a lot of stress on them,” she said, referring to when it had to close. “They denied people from going into the low-barrier for ridiculous reasons and unfortunately it did create quite an issue that we had to resolve."
King said he hopes health unit staff and paramedics will be on-site to vaccinate more homeless people at the shelter in hopes of avoiding any future outbreaks.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
NEW Iconic Canadian song turns 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Prince Harry, Meghan arrive in Nigeria to champion the Invictus Games and meet with wounded soldiers
Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, arrived in Nigeria on Friday to champion the Invictus Games, which he founded to aid the rehabilitation of wounded and sick servicemembers and veterans, among them Nigerian soldiers fighting a 14-year war against Islamic extremists.
Countries struggle to draft 'pandemic treaty' to avoid mistakes made during COVID
After the coronavirus pandemic triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies and killed millions, leaders at the World Health Organization and worldwide vowed to do better in the future. Years later, countries are still struggling to come up with an agreed-upon plan for how the world might respond to the next global outbreak.
Toronto police called to Drake's Bridle Path mansion for another alleged intruder on Thursday
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Flat tire on a highway? Here's why you shouldn't try to fix it
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.
Broadcaster and commentator Rex Murphy dead at 77: National Post
The National Post is reporting that Rex Murphy, the pundit and columnist who hosted a national call-in radio show for decades, has died.