On October 5th, the first three Health & Homelessness Hubs, including lead agencies and locations, were approved by London City Council.
Hub Location and Lead Agency Details
Atlohsa Family Healing Services: Supporting Indigenous Individuals
This Hub will have 10 respite beds and 18 transitional rooms at 550 Wellington Road, located on the St. Joseph's Health Care London Parkwood site, and is expected to open in December 2023.
Youth Opportunities Unlimited: Supporting Youth
This Hub will support an estimated 60 youth per year, with 6 respite beds immediately while renovations begin at London’s Health Sciences Centre Building 16 at 800 Commissioners Road E. It will scale up to an additional 9 transitional rooms by May 2024 and will be connected with other YOU spaces and services like Joan's Place and Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario.
CMHA Thames Valley Addiction and Mental Health Services: Supporting Women and Female-Identifying Individuals
This Hub is multi-site, with one location at My Sister’s Place at 556 Dundas Street with 10 respite beds and one location at 705 Fanshawe Park Road W. with 20 transitional rooms. The respite beds will open in 2023 and the transitional rooms, pending rezoning, are expected May 2024.
These agencies and their partners have stepped up to deliver comprehensive, around-the-clock services to help people move safely inside, find support, stabilize and start on the path to housing.
Respite vs. Transitional Beds - What’s the Difference?
Among the many functions in a Hub are spaces where people can rest and stabilize, for short or longer periods, as they receive support. Here’s the difference between the two types of beds:
- Transitional beds are dedicated to individual stays for longer periods of time, supported by a case worker and a plan to maintain stability, build trust interactions, and move individuals forward with their housing plans. They are not drop-in shelter beds.
- Respite beds are non-reserved spaces, filled by referral from outreach workers, emergency services or walk-ins. These beds offer a safe indoor space to rest for those who are not yet engaged in a support and housing plan.
Hubs as Good Neighbours
Community Engagement & Relationships is a key value of Hubs. This includes proactively engaging with surrounding neighbourhoods and providing ongoing opportunities for neighbours to provide feedback. It also includes intentional physical design, with elements that help ensure privacy and security such as fencing and landscaping.
What’s next for Hubs and Housing?
While the City works on contracts with the Lead Agencies, the agencies will also be starting community engagement in their neighbourhoods; hiring and training staff; and getting spaces ready for move-in and/or renovations. For the Fanshawe Park Road site, the CMHA will also be submitting a rezoning application to begin that process. More information about this process is available online and we’ll share more details in an upcoming newsletter too.
All Hub Lead Agencies will also begin meeting and working together as a team to ensure consistency and communication with each other and the community. And, as Hubs are the pathways to highly supportive housing, the Housing Implementation Table is finalizing their plan, which will come to Council later this fall for approval.
How the Fund for Change Supports the System
System implementation work would not be possible without the Fund for Change, which is providing capital funding for all three Hubs as well as one-time operating funds for the CMHA transitional beds. Find out more about how Londoners are doubling their gifts through the Fund matching program, the Funding Matching Program,
HERE.
Question – please send them to the Movement for Change Team by clicking
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