Timmins shelter expands with Indigenous services
New shelter beds at Living Space are not only going to help get more people off the streets but, as the Ontario Native Women’s Association (ONWA) puts it, will help clients access services.
The ONWA invested over $13,000 to expand the shelter, of which five will be exclusive to its clients.
The manager of its Timmins branch, Virginia Sutherland, said at the grand opening Wednesday morning that the decision came about when noticing the trouble people have had finding the supports they need in the city. Many closed their offices to in-person visits during the pandemic, she said.
“They walk all over Timmins, in terms of going door-to-door to try and find those services,” Sutherland said.
“We’re coming here, at Living Space, to meet our community members here, so they can access our services.”
The expansion also includes dedicated space for ONWA to perform case management and provide culturally-based programming to clients.
With a majority of the shelter’s clients being Indigenous, First Nations officials in attendance said the move to bring more supports where people are seeking shelter is a critical step towards improving housing insecurity supports for its urban members.
“We need to have these wraparound services, to provide these safe spaces for people to access services,” said Deputy Grand Chief of Nishnawbe Aski Nation, Anna Betty Achneepineskum.
The Grand Chief of the Mushkegowuk Council, Alison Linklater, told guests that several factors can lead people to become homeless.
For Indigenous communities, she said, lack of housing is a large issue, as is the growing affordability crisis. Addictions and mental health challenges are also major concerns, she said, but that it shouldn’t be assumed that they apply to everyone who is homeless.
Linklater said Mushkegowuk Council is creating a social development department, which will allow it to help better collaborate with groups like the ONWA on these issues.
“We’re hoping, with this space that’s provided by ONWA—we’re so greatly appreciative for that—that we’ll continue with more supports,” said Linklater.
Living Space’s executive director, Kate Durst, said the expansion will certainly help get more people into shelter, as well as make more people aware of the in-house services it provides to help get clients on their feet. Things like harm-reduction, mental health and social service supports.
Durst called the ONWA’s funding of the expansion and its partnership with the shelter unique and that it bodes well for future work in the city.
“It’s really showing how the partnerships that are starting to form, in the City of Timmins, are taking those big steps faster,” Durst said..
Sutherland told the dozens of guests at the grand opening that the goal is to end homelessness in the city. Municipalities have been pledging to meet that goal by 2025.
But she said that can only happen when local agencies work together, with its move being just one step.
“These people that are here are people,” Sutherland said.
“If we can come all together to provide that support, I think we can go a long way.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Most of Canada to receive emergency alert test today
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
NEW For their protection, immigrants critical of China and India call for speedy passage of Canada's foreign interference legislation
Canadian immigrants threatened by hostile regimes are urging parliamentarians to quickly pass the 'Countering Foreign Interference Act' so they can feel safe living in their adopted home.
OPINION No reunion between Prince Harry and the King signifies a setback for royal unity
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
How Drake and Kendrick Lamar's rap beef escalated within weeks
A long-simmering feud between hip-hop superstars Drake and Kendrick Lamar reached a boiling point in recent days as the pair traded increasingly personal insults on a succession of diss tracks. Here’s a quick overview of what’s behind the ongoing beef.
Israel says it reopened a key Gaza crossing after a rocket attack but the UN says no aid has entered
The Israeli military said Wednesday that it has reopened the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza, a key terminal for the entry of humanitarian aid that was closed over the weekend after a Hamas rocket attack killed four Israeli soldiers nearby.
Spanish prosecutors recommend 2nd investigation into Shakira's taxes be thrown out
Spanish state prosecutors recommended Wednesday that an investigating judge shelve a probe into another alleged case of tax fraud by pop star Shakira.
'A huge difference': These adults born in the '90s partnered with their parents to buy homes in Ontario
An Ontario woman said it would have been impossible to buy a house without her mother – an anecdote that animates the fact that over 17 per cent of Canadian homeowners born in the ‘90s own their property with their parents, according to a new report.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.