Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services is getting $220,000 worth of land to build at least 20 housing units for homeless Indigenous young people.
City Council voted last night to give them part of the surplus city-owned land between the Boys and Girls Clubs and the Superior North EMS headquarters on Junot Avenue.
It’s meant to give youth a place to stay and move from living on the streets, in shelters or couch-surfing, to mainstream housing.
The housing service came to City Council in June asking for one of the surplus properties the city owns to allow it to build transitional housing for homeless Indigenous youth.
Councillor Paul Pugh feels the project will make a big difference.
“Not only is this something we very much need, in terms of housing for homeless youth, but from a financial point of view, this is a bargain,” the McKellar Councillor says, “For $220,000, we’re going to get 20[…] one-bedroom units? You just don’t see this kind of thing.”
Before it can go ahead, organizers still need to get government funding for the $3.6 million dollar project, re-zoning of the land to allow the program to operate, and get architectural or engineering reports.
Council also approved $108,000 for the third stage of upgrades to Magnus Theatre as part of the same motion.