City, Elgin Street Mission to open cold weather shelter

Minutes after a downtown rally demanding the immediate opening of an overnight cold weather shelter for homeless people in the city, Greater Sudbury has announced an agreement to provide a temporary shelter immediately until a long-term one is ready.

The agreement with the Elgin Street Mission means the city's most vulnerable residents will have a place to go beginning tonight. In a release, the city said the Mission agreed to extend its hours temporarily. However, the agreement does not provide overnight beds for the homeless, which will be provided once a facility on Larch Street is open.

“The City of Greater Sudbury has partnered with the board of directors for the Elgin Street Mission to extend the Mission’s operating hours until the Out Of the Cold Shelter is open,” the release said. “With the extension of service by the Mission, individuals requiring warmth from out of the cold will be accommodated.”

The doors will be open from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m., seven days a week at the facility, which used to host the Out of the Cold Emergency Shelter until last winter, when it reduced its operating hours.

A temporary shelter opened last February, with plans to find a permanent solution before the cold weather set in this year. However, problems with finding a suitable bidder for the contract with the city delayed the process. When members of the Sudbury Coalition Against Poverty (SCAP) showed up at the Nov. 4 meeting of city council, staff said they hoped to get a solution in place within two weeks.

The plan then was to partner with the Salvation Army to operate the shelter out of the former police station on Larch Street. However, getting the building ready to accommodate the homeless has taken longer than expected, and there is still no date when the shelter will open.

That prompted Monday's rally by SCAP. In a release, the group said it has been told the Larch Street facility won't open until sometime next month.

“Which could be two to three weeks from now,” the release said. “The Sudbury Coalition Against Poverty demands that this shelter be opened immediately. The city has a responsibility to provide homeless people with a safe and warm place to sleep.

“The shelter is not a longer-term solution to the problem of homelessness, but is an immediate way for people to get warmth and a place to sleep. We need safe and accessible affordable housing to be made available in Sudbury, and we also need higher social assistance rates so that people can pay the higher rents that are being demanded by landlords.”

The group planned to issue an open letter to new Mayor Brian Bigger at Monday's rally calling for an immediate solution. The rally was scheduled for 2 p.m., and just before 3 p.m., the city issued a release announcing the agreement with the Elgin Street Mission.

“Modifications are underway at the chosen site of the Out of the Cold program, at 200 Larch St. The Salvation Army is also organizing their supports to get the program up and running as quickly as possible,” the release said. “The city will advise the public on the opening date of the program, once a final start date has been confirmed.”