Supportive model a cornerstone to solving homelessness

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A ‘good news story’ as several partners, including the government, come to the table and fill a need

More than 200 community members were on hand to celebrate the grand opening of Cornerstone Suites on September 12 — the second Indwell supportive housing development in Peel Region — amid an overwhelming sense of ‘We did this!’

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“It really was a celebration of the entire community,” remarked Jeff Neven. CEO of Indwell, a Hamilton-based Christian charity that works collaboratively with partners to provide new supportive and affordable housing units for vulnerable adults.

“We know so much about the need and we see people in every neighbourhood who are living in inadequate shelter, there was really a sense of we did this as a community and that there are solutions we can implement,” he said.

Located at 263 Victoria Street in Mississauga (Streetsville), the new development has 40 fully furnished studio apartments, each with their own kitchen and bathroom.

Tenants are supported by a multidisciplinary team that includes housing support staff, food security staff, nurses, mental health and addiction workers and social workers.

They also receive one hot meal per day in a common space where they can also learn cooking skills, from making an ingredient list to shopping to preparing a meal.

For Neven, the grand opening was particularly memorable because the site — which preserved two heritage homes and was built to the passive housing standard — operated as a for-profit group home for more than 50 years, with cramped living quarters and poor conditions.

The first six tenants to move in to the new Cornerstone Suites are former group home residents and the remaining apartments are expected to be occupied within a month.

“This is a good news story because everybody came to the table — each level of government, including the region of Peel, prioritized the project and were able to make it happen,” said Neven.

The development received funding from CMHC’s Rapid Housing Initiative and the Ontario Social Services Relief Fund, and was supported by many community partners including churches, individuals and businesses.

Indwell, which celebrates its 50^th anniversary this year, is currently going through the planning approval process to develop a third supportive housing development in Clarkson. Lakeshore Lofts on Lakeshore Road was the first in Peel region.

As Neven explained, the idea is to offer three levels of support — enhanced, blended and standard — so that tenants are able to move between the different levels as needed.

Cornerstone Suites is considered enhanced support, Lakeshore Lofts is blended and the newest project will be standard, intended for people who are furthest along in their journey towards independent living.

In Peel region, Indwell is working closely with Services and Housing in the Province (SHIP) and hospital partners to coordinate access to supportive housing for people in need. Neven firmly believes the formula to solve homelessness is clear, but what’s lacking is political will to take a system-wide approach.

“There are lots of other infrastructure projects that happen on a regular basis … where we identify the need as a society, we identify the cost required and then we go figure out how to make it happen,” said Neven.

“For some reason we deal with affordable housing and supportive housing in a different way … Usually starting with ‘We have a little pot of money here. What can we do with it?’ rather than linking it to a need and taking a system-wide approach to actually focus on solving the challenge.”