THUNDER BAY – A new seven-unit home on Thunder Bay’s south side will help plug what the Elizabeth Fry Society calls a gaping need in the city’s supportive housing landscape.
The organization will offer 24-hour supports for five to seven people in a renovated two-story home it purchased with an infusion of provincial dollars.
The home will serve women and gender-diverse people who have been involved in the criminal justice system, who are living in active addiction, experiencing chronic homelessness or exploitation, and those who may be at risk of criminalization.
With 3,062 square feet of living space, seven bedrooms, and two bathrooms, the organization called the premises an ideal transitional housing environment.
“We clearly are filling a gap,” said Lindsay Martin, executive director of the Elizabeth Fry Society Northwestern Ontario. “Once we opened the doors, the rooms were full right away.”
“We’re starting off small, communal, a seven-unit unit living house and we’re hoping to grow from there.”
Supports available to residents will include a dedicated reintegration worker and a systems navigator circle of care.
Martin said that will provide the supports people need to get back on their feet.
“When people are leaving carceral spaces or at risk of chronic houselessness and are looking for a stable place to live, they need that wrap-around support,” she said.
“Having individuals come and check in on them, just ensuring life skills are being presented to them and supports are being afforded to get them where they need to be … It allows them to move on.”
The home is within walking distance of downtown Fort William and services like NorWest Community Health Centres and the Brodie library.
The Elizabeth Fry Society is a charitable organization that supports and advocates for women and gender diverse people who have been involved with the justice system or who are at risk of criminalization.
Martin said that mission is needed in Thunder Bay’s supportive housing system.
“You have John Howard Society, Salvation Army, and a lot of violence against women shelters that are available, but they have a specific mandate. We’re really here to create a lower-barrier supportive living environment.”
The organization bought the home using $219,500 in capital funding from the District of Thunder Bay Social Services Administration Board, which manages provincial housing and homelessness dollars.
The money was drawn from funding the DSSAB received through Social Services Relief Fund (SSRF), initially created as a joint federal-provincial initiative intended to bolster the country’s homelessness and social housing system.
The DSSAB initially provided the funding in April 2022. The home was purchased in October of that year, and construction was completed in January 2023.
“This project expands our system’s capacity to support women and gender-diverse people who need appropriate supports,” said Bill Bradica, the CAO of the DSSAB.
“We want people to be successful, we need to meet them where they’re at. This partnership with Elizabeth Fry shows how that is being done with dignity and respect.”
Thunder Bay–Atikokan MPP Kevin Holland called the project an important step in meeting the city’s housing needs.
“This funding is intended to increase our community’s capacity to bridge the gap from unstable housing environments to more permanent housing attainment,” he said in a statement. “[The location] also offers proximity to key transit and community service centers.”
With files from Vasilios Bellos, TBT News
