Heron Road Community Centre to reopen after nearly 2 years as emergency shelter
On Friday, the last people staying there were transitioned to other shelters in the city, including the YMCA and the Queen Street transitional facility that opened last month, Alta Vista Coun. Marty Carr said.
"There was a place found for every single one of those residents in a more suitable location than a community centre," Carr told CBC on Saturday.
"It's fantastic for the community and it's fantastic for unhoused individuals who no longer have to sleep in bunk beds in a gym."
Carr said the community centre will reopen "on a staggered basis" as cleanup and renovation work is completed, but they hope to reopen the seniors' centre on the second floor as early as mid-September.
'Long-term plans' being forged
Using community centres as emergency shelters was a practice that began during the pandemic, when city facilities were shut down, Carr explained.
"There was no plan in place to actually address the emergency that was declared," she said. "And so that practice of using community centres has continued, even when the city was able to resume recreational programming."
After COVID-19 lockdowns ended, Carr said she and other councillors tried to end the practice, but a surge in "irregular migration" to the city prolonged their use.
"So, hopefully as of Friday, this chapter of using community facilities as shelter has finally come to a close."
Carr added that the Bernard Grandmaître Arena on McArthur Road is also no longer operating as a shelter.
"And we're making long-term plans so that we can address this housing and homelessness strategy," she said. "We actually have plans in place."
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