GUELPH – People experiencing homelessness who have been living in a hotel in the north end of Guelph will be moving to a former retirement home closer to downtown, following a decision by county council.
After returning from a closed-door session during its committee of the whole meeting on June 27, council announced the county had entered into a lease agreement with the owner of 128 Norfolk St. to provide temporary accommodations for individuals experiencing homelessness.
The building is the former home of Norfolk Manor, a private retirement home just north of the downtown.
A message on the home’s website states that, effective, May 13, 2024, Norfolk Manor will no longer operate as an assisted living retirement home and will cease to provide care services.
The county’s lease agreement for the property runs from July 1 to Dec. 31, 2025.
According to a county media release, the property will house people who were being sheltered at the “Silvercreek temporary accommodation site,” which had capacity for 65 people when the county first leased the property in March 2020.
The Silvercreek site is the former Holiday Inn Express. With 112 new transitional and supportive housing spaces open or set to open in the coming year, county staff had planned to phase out use of the Silvercreek site, but that plan has changed.
“A rise in the number of individuals experiencing homelessness in 2023 and continuing into 2024 has resulted in the need to maintain the 65 spaces of temporary accommodation following the end of our lease arrangements,” the release states.
“Our data indicate that there has been a 33 per cent increase in the number of individuals experiencing chronic homelessness in the first quarter of 2024,” county director of housing services Mark Poste said in the release.
“The Norfolk property will help stabilize 68 spaces for temporary accommodation in a much more affordable arrangement.”
The Norfolk property is described as having “comparable amenities” to the Silvercreek site. It has a maximum 68-bed capacity, common areas, office spaces, and a commercial kitchen.
There will be support staff provided by Stepping Stone on site 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and County of Wellington maintenance staff or contracted cleaning staff will be on site daily, said a county webpage featuring additional information about the property.
The webpage – www.wellington.ca/norfolk – includes information about the Norfolk Street site and county housing and homelessness-related initiatives.
A spokesperson for the county said residents of the Silvercreek site were to move to 128 Norfolk St. July 2, but could not say what happens when the new lease expires at the end of 2025.
