Work has started on an emergency warming shelter in Timmins.
With sledge hammers in hand, partners involved in the project celebrated the start of the renovations at Living Space located at 27 Cedar St. N.
“It’s a very exciting day, we are taking down the walls in the area of the Living Space that will be the warming centre,” said Clark MacFarlane, Canadian Mental Health Association Cochrane Timiskimaming Branch executive director.
Living Space is dedicated to ending chronic homelessness.
CMHA Cochrane-Timiskaming Branch communications manager Andreanne Denis said it started as a strategic partnership between community and municipal organizations.
"It came from the realization that to solve the homelessness situation we need to work together," she said.
Right now, the basement of the building where the 15-bed emergency shelter will go is a long, narrow hallway with rooms branching off.
An open space is being created and MacFarlane said the goal is to have it up and running in December.
Once all of the renovations are complete, he said it will be a one-stop shop for people to get connected to all of the support needed.
Throughout the winter, work will continue on the rest of the building, which will house a service hub on the main floor and transitional rental apartments.
Work to open this kind of space in Timmins has been a few years in the making.
“We’re actually the only community in Northeastern Ontario without an established warming centre,” said Denis.
The need, she said, is shown in a 2011 study that found more than 700 people are chronically homeless in Timmins.
Funding for the project is coming from a number of areas, including $200,000 from the City of Timmins.
