November 2023: Construction completed
Peterborough, ON – The City of Peterborough marked the completion of construction on the Modular Bridge Housing Community, which will soon provide shelter for 50 people who are currently experiencing unsheltered homelessness.
“These units are a new way to help some of the most vulnerable people in our community – a way to provide shelter for people who are homelessness and either cannot or will not for various reasons access our other shelter and housing programs,” said Councillor Keith Riel, City Council’s Homelessness Portfolio Chair.
“As the site gets ready for people to move in, I feel a sense of relief and hopefulness. Touring the units, they are well-built, warm, and thoughtfully planned. The community has a framework in place to offer a lot of structure, support and autonomy for residents,” said Councillor Alex Bierk, Homelessness Portfolio Vice Chair. “On site, there will be 24/7 support and resources to meet a complex set of needs. In less than a year, we have come a very long way. It’s important to recognize the progress we’ve made since last winter.”
Before residents start moving into the new units within the next couple of weeks, tours of the site are being offered to residents who live in the neighbourhood around the Wolfe Street site and community agencies that provide support services for people experiencing homelessness.
When Council approved the project in May, the expectation was that people would move into the units before winter as part of a new enhanced winter response plan for homelessness, which also includes a new winter overnight drop in space that will be operated by One City at the Trinity Centre on Reid Street.
On the Wolfe Street site for the Modular Bridge Housing Community, there will be a service hub to support the residents to access available services and staff support on site 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Elizabeth Fry Society will operate the site on behalf of the City.
The Modular Bridge Housing Community operations will be funded using provincial funding from the Homelessness Prevention Program.
Each of the 50 units has a heating and cooling appliance. The units are furnished with bed frames, bed mattresses, bedding, a mini fridge, shelving, and storage space. Residents will also be supplied with dressers, chairs, laundry baskets, cutlery, night stands and lamps.
Selection of the individuals who were offered Modular Bridge Housing Community units was done through a collaborative process between the City of Peterborough, Elizabeth Fry Society and Fourcast.
Outreach workers have been regularly engaging with people who are experiencing homelessness, including individuals who are living in the encampment on Wolfe Street, to offer assistance and to share information on the new homelessness services.
Other background
- The City’s emergency shelter network, operated by community partner agencies, offers 102 shelter beds, including 30 beds at the overflow shelter bed program. When the new winter overnight drop-in space operated by One City at the Trinity Centre on Reid Street opens, the overflow shelter bed program will be closed with the service transferring to the One City service. There was about 24 beds available each night at the overflow shelter bed program in October.
