Sault social services preparing temporary homeless shelter

Sault Ste. Marie -

While a permanent shelter is in the works at the former Sacred Heart School property in Sault Ste. Marie, the city's Social Services Administration Board is preparing a temporary homeless shelter in the city's west end.

The temporary shelter will be housed at the former Verdi Hall property on Queen Street West. City Coun. Luke Dufour, who also chairs the Social Services Board, said it will be a low-barrier shelter, and those who may have been kicked out of other shelters can find a place to sleep there.

"Things like foul language, or people who are under the influence of substances, they'll still be given a warm bed to sleep in at night," said Dufour.

"Of course, there's going to be security there. No one is allowed to harm themselves or others."

The board is currently attempting to determine the size of the Sault's homeless population. Housing and homelessness supervisor Naomi Martel said the people they've spoken with want to share their stories.

"They want the government to know, they want to be invested in the change and there's an understanding that data is how we move forward," said Martel. "We need to collect the data in order to get the resources to make that change happen."

As a homeless encampment grows on the grounds of Sault Ste. Marie city hall, Dufour said he has been hearing recently from people about the city's addiction, mental health and homelessness issues.

"I don't think you can really overstate the degree to which people's suffering has really intensified the last year-and-a-half," he said. "I think everyone in Sault Ste. Marie is absolutely seeing the effects of that on our streets."

Meantime, Dufour said the 22-bed temporary shelter will be ready in the coming weeks. It will remain in operation until the permanent shelter is up and running sometime next year.