Strathmore in support of overnight shelter opening 24 hours a day
The Town of Strathmore council voted to authorize the mayor to sign a letter of support for the Strathmore Overnight Shelter to remain open to clients 24 hours a day.
Discussion surrounding the letter took place during the Sept. 18 regular meeting of council. Coun. Brent Wiley voiced a concern about the letter, regarding the Overnight Shelter potentially expanding the number of beds available to clients.
Wiley expressed concern that by expanding the number of beds at the Overnight Shelter, the facility would be serving clients not resident to Strathmore.
“If we continue to expand this, I am afraid that it is going to cost our citizens more than I think the 20 beds which do serve Strathmore residents,” he said.
The letter, which was ultimately authorized by council, though supportive of the expansion of the shelter, did not specify how many beds may be added to the facility.
Elizabeth Karp, executive director of the Strathmore Overnight Shelter, addressed Wiley’s concern, stating the Overnight Shelter puts a direct emphasis on screening clients to be residents of Strathmore as often as possible.
“I quite often do get calls from Calgary, Edmonton, and other areas because the shelters are full there. We are not in the business of bringing homeless populations into Strathmore … when the social workers or other people call us from other cities, we actually turn them down,” she said. “We typically do not let them into the shelter, we turn them away before they even get there – but there are situations where the RCMP picked somebody up on the street, the hospital is releasing somebody, and so we do take them in in those situations.”
Karp added the Overnight Shelter requested support in expanding their operation in order to qualify for additional grant opportunities to finance the shelter more adequately.
“It does not necessarily mean we are going to bring a bunch more people into Strathmore,” said Karp. “As a matter of fact, in the last quarter, we have had a huge success rate of placing people in homes.”
The Strathmore Overnight Shelter also maintains a policy that clients utilizing the service have a maximum stay length of three months.
Karp explained that period may be extended on a case-by-case basis if the client is working towards a housing goal or is similarly oriented.
Coun. Richard Wegener motioned for council to authorize signing the letter. Support for the letter to the Overnight Shelter from council was passed in a vote of 5-1 in favour following the discussion period.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Lawyers allege foreign interference in high-profile Canadian mafia deportation case
Lawyers for an alleged high-ranking member of the Italian Mafia in Toronto claim evidence is being used against him that is the product of foreign interference by Italian police.
The Royal Canadian Legion turns to Amazon for annual poppy campaign boost
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans' fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Should Toronto tear up its bike lanes to improve traffic flow? Critics say it's not so simple
A congestion crisis, a traffic nightmare, or unrelenting gridlock -- whatever you call it, most agree that Toronto has a congestion problem. To alleviate some of the gridlock, the Ontario government has announced it plans to remove bike lanes from three major roadways.
Super giant TVs are flying off store shelves
Televisions that measure 97 inches (and more) diagonally across – a.k.a. XXL TVs – are becoming a huge hit as the cost of giant screens sinks sharply, and viewers look to replace the screens they bought during the peak of the pandemic a few years ago.
Canada's response to Trump deportation plan a key focus of revived cabinet committee
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump's promise to launch a mass deportation of millions of undocumented people has the Canadian government looking at its own border.
Here's what this year's Starbucks holiday cups look like
The holidays officially begin this week — at least at Starbucks — when the coffee chain rolls out its annual seasonal cups.
Migrants crossing the Darien heard of Donald Trump's victory — and picked up the pace
Jesus Chavez, a 34-year-old pastry chef from Barquisimeto, Venezuela, arrived in this small village at Panama’s edge of the Darien jungle on Friday.
Hungry Palestinians in north Gaza search for food, sealed off from aid for a month by Israeli siege
With virtually no food allowed into the northernmost part of Gaza for the past month, tens of thousands of Palestinians under Israeli siege are rationing their last lentils and flour to survive. As bombardment pounds around them, some say they risk their lives by venturing out in search of cans of food in the rubble of destroyed homes.
'Saturday Night Live' to take on a second Trump term after focusing on Harris
'Saturday Night Live' is likely to strike a new tone as it looks toward a second term for Donald Trump in its first episode since his election victory.