| Collingwood, ON [07 June 2024] – The County of Simcoe is partnering with The Common Roof to work with the Town of Collingwood, to bring a new support program to help address housing needs within the community of Collingwood. The initiative is called the Supportive Rapid Rehousing Program (SRRP) and aims to provide services, housing and support to individuals who have fallen on difficult times and helps to place them into permanent housing quickly. These individuals are ones who have been identified as situationally homeless (i.e., due to a recent life event, rather than chronically homeless). This SRRP gives individuals wrap around, in-house support to find and integrate into permanent housing successfully. This is NOT a shelter, it’s a temporary home for individuals as they prepare for more independent living situations. The County will enter a contract with a qualified agency to provide comprehensive, 24/7 on-site services, staffed with trained professionals. Operating details will be confirmed over the coming weeks. The aim is to have the program operational this summer. This is a temporary structure, and it is anticipated that the program will run for approximately five years in this location. The modular building can house between 10 and 15 people at a time (excluding staff/support teams). This is part of the County of Simcoe and the Town of Collingwood’s joint efforts to expand the support for and availability of supportive housing in the area. Through the County, this expanded system provides capacity to better transition individuals who have been identified as situationally homeless into permanent housing while alleviating pressures on regional shelter systems. This strategy is one of the pillars within the County’s 10-Point Homelessness Prevention Strategy. A similar program in the City of Barrie has resulted in many successful outcomes, with no known impact on the surrounding neighbourhood. The County also recently opened a youth-based SRRP program embedded in the City of Orillia. Both these programs have utilized similar modular, pre-built structures. A program FAQ is attached or visit please visit simcoe.ca/SRRP. Affordable Housing has been a key priority for Collingwood Council and staff for many years. The Town recently completed an Affordable Housing Master Plan (AHMP) in November 2023, which provided the Town a set of 26 recommendations for tackling the housing issue. The Town is committed to collaborating with other levels of government to facilitate affordable housing initiatives that bring much-needed housing to our community. Quotes “The County continues to take a proactive, forward-thinking approach to addressing homelessness and housing needs in our communities across the region. The SRRP program has been effective in other communities, supporting individuals in need and the community at large. We thank The Common Roof organization for partnering with us, and the Town of Collingwood for their support as we work together to build up the lives of our residents.” ~ Warden Basil Clarke, County of Simcoe“ We are fortunate that the County of Simcoe is planning to build specialized temporary housing in our community. The focus for this housing is to help those ready to move into permanent housing. Many thanks to The Common Roof for partnering with the County in this project”. ~ Mayor Yvonne Hamlin, Town of Collingwood “We are excited to enter into a partnership with the County of Simcoe to collaborate with the Town of Collingwood to bring this much needed program to fruition. By allowing the SRRP program to operate from our property, we can ensure that a specific community benefit to respond to homelessness and housing needs is realized. A key goal of The Common Roof, and our shared service approach, is innovation through collaboration, which is being demonstrated through this collaboration.” ~ James Thomson, President and CEO, The Common Roof About the County of Simcoe The County of Simcoe is composed of sixteen member municipalities and provides crucial public services to County residents in addition to providing paramedic and social services to the separated cities of Barrie and Orillia. Visit our website at simcoe.ca. About Collingwood The Town of Collingwood is a progressive community located in the heart of a four-season recreation area on the southern shore of Georgian Bay. The area is well known for its many natural amenities and its rich heritage. Collingwood is a destination for tourism and many business, sporting, and cultural events Collingwood acts as a gateway to the South Georgian Bay region, with stunning landscapes that encourage an active lifestyle, and inspire the local arts and culture community. Downtown Collingwood might just surprise you with 30 plus restaurants, 60 plus boutique shops, spas for relaxing, and live music for grooving…all in the only downtown core recognized by Canada’s Registrar of Historic Places! More recently, the harbourfront area is emerging as an extension of the downtown district. Plans for expanding the amenities and events in the harbourfront area promise to make this a much more prominent tourism destination. |
