For the past month and a half Robert Lauder has called The Lighthouse in Orillia home.
The men’s shelter has given him a place to rebuild his life. Now he's ready to move on, and find a job.
“I'd probably be out on the streets. It gives everyone another chance to have an opportunity at life,” he says. "Getting back on my feet one day at time."
The Lighthouse hopes to offer this kind of opportunity to more people. Shelter officials shared details on Tuesday of a plan to expand and for the first time, offer services to women and children too.
“Currently there is no homeless shelter for women or children in Orillia,” says Linda Goodall, the shelter’s executive director. “They often need to get to Barrie and transportation is an issue.”
The plan involves building a brand new shelter in Orillia. It will also include mental health beds, a soup kitchen, counselling and services from support agencies.
"It can take hours to navigate through Orillia so having a hub model people get those services easier."
The Canadian Mental Health Association is on board and The Lighthouse is working to bring on agencies like the John Howard Society and The Salvation Army. However, they still need the city to rezone the land.
“To be able move forward to finalize the real estate deal we need have the land rezoned.”
Council already agreed to loan the shelter nearly half a million dollars to buy the land. A zoning decision is expected next week.
"I think council demonstrated its will to be partner in this. We’ve contributed $450,000 to get the project off the ground. I don't anticipate any major issues with that," says Mayor Steve Clarke.
Once the land is rezoned and the sale is finalized, a fundraising campaign will begin to help pay for construction. It's expected to cost $6-million
