Temporary homeless shelter in Barrie on track to open: County of Simcoe
Simcoe County is inching closer to setting up a temporary shelter at the old OPP property on Rose Street in Barrie to keep people out of the cold this winter.
“We are still planning for that to be in mid-November, for that to be on-site, and we still have a little bit of work to do with the City of Barrie in terms of approvals, but we are optimistic we’re going to be in good shape,” said George Cornell, Simcoe County warden.
The land, which the county owns, will eventually be used for supportive housing.
But before that happens, the county will bring in temporary modular construction units that can house 50 beds for those who need it most.
Including people like Matt, who lives on the streets in downtown Barrie.
“If there’s 12 hours without any warmth heading our way during winter, what I just usually do is I have a tent. If I don’t have anything like that, I find a nice shelter from the wind. I try to sleep next to a plug, and I get a hairdryer, and I put it in my sleeping bag,” he said.
“I personally am going to rely on it for the complete winter until the snow is gone, and I’ll be there every night.”
The county says it hopes to have the temporary shelter running in December.
“This is a temporary measure to accommodate our needs...and those that are being challenged with the housing crisis we face,” said Cornell.
According to the 2022 Simcoe County Homelessness Enumeration conducted on January 25, 722 people were experiencing homelessness, including 219 in Barrie.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.