In something awfully close to scrounging for sofa coins or cracking open piggy banks, the District of Sault Ste. Marie Social Services Administration Board managed to find $451,921 this week to provide short-term housing for homeless men.
Housing services director Jeff Barban and his DSSMSSAB coworkers found the money in 10 old housing accounts.
Three of the accounts dated back 10 years.
One account was from 2013, three were from 2014, two from 2015 and one from 2016.
Board members voted Thursday to put the money toward the cost of building 20 transitional housing units for men in the old Sacred Heart School at 721 Wellington St. East.
"Sault Ste. Marie has experienced the loss of several rooming houses...creating a shortage of inexpensive housing for many low-income individuals within the community," Barban says.
"These housing losses are a result of fire, closure and/or bylaw enforcement efforts. Recent examples include Studio 10 and Rednecks Saloon."
"The largest homeless population in the district are male," Barban said in a written report to his board.
"Constructing a safe affordable transition bed facility supports the DSSMSSAB’s housing and homelessness plan by providing necessary short-term housing for men who are homeless awaiting permanent housing."
"Construction of transitional units within the former Sacred Heart building will complement the existing services to be offered within the shelter, providing support for life stabilization for the residents without needing to leave."
The found money is in addition to $1.9 million already earmarked for a men's shelter to be located in the former school.
Renovation work there is expected to be tendered in the near future.
As SooToday reported in January, St. Vincent Place will no longer be operating the Sault's men's shelter, which will now share space at 721 Wellington East with an ambulance base and the new home of the Neighbourhood Resource Centre.
Canadian Mental Health Association will be the service provider at the new shelter.