Collingwood’s emergency shelter program came to council last week to ask for a helping hand when it comes to funding for their 2022/23 winter season.
During Thursday’s (Aug. 18) meeting of council, Coun. Chris Carrier put forward a motion to give $75,000 of town funds to the David Busby Centre – South Georgian Bay for the operation of their winter season starting in November of this year.
“The pandemic response funding is essentially over,” Busby Centre executive director Sara Peddle told councillors last week. “Most communities have gone back to business as usual. We’re looking for additional funding to do the work we need to do,” she said.
The mayor acknowledged the current housing crisis and the struggle the Busby centre faces in providing shelter for the increasing number of people experiencing homelessness.
“The system doesn’t work. It’s failed many of our most vulnerable. You’re there to provide the thumb in the dam while we at this table and others try to come up with solutions to some of these significant issues,” said Mayor Keith Hull.
Pre-pandemic, Collingwood and South Georgian Bay’s temporary emergency shelter – Out of the Cold Collingwood – ran from November 2019 until April 2020, and was planned to run for three winter seasons until a permanent emergency shelter solution was worked out to serve South Georgian Bay.
However, the pandemic hit during the shelter’s first operational season and in the two years since, the Collingwood homelessness landscape has become more severe. In May 2021, the shelter transitioned their daily operational oversight from Community Connections to the David Busby Centre.
Pre-pandemic, the first season of Out of the Cold Collingwood was funded through a $75,000 donation from the Town of Collingwood, in addition to charitable donations and money raised in the Collingwood community.
Once the COVID-19 emergency hotel model was put in place, six area shelters, including Collingwood’s, were then funded through provincial funding dollars which meant the shelters could save fundraising dollars for their return to regular operations. A second donation of $75,000 was provided by the town to the shelter program in December 2020, and was held in reserves.
The financial support of the Busby Centre – South Georgian Bay’s operations by the County of Simcoe officially ran out on July 31. The Busby board voted around the same time to dip into their reserve funds to keep the motel program going in Collingwood for as long as possible to bridge the gap between the motel model ending and the winter season starting.
The County of Simcoe has also committed $60,000 toward Busby Centre – South Georgian Bay’s winter operations.
“The need is here. It’s very real,” said Peddle.
The motion passed by a unanimous vote of council. The funding will be taken from the general contingency reserve.
