THUNDER BAY - The head of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) is calling on the city and provincial governments to step up and fund a Shelter House program that's set to be suspended on Apr. 1.
Warren (Smokey) Thomas issued a letter to Premier Kathleen Wynne Thursday, saying governments need to find the $200,000 needed to keep Shelter House's Street Outreach Service (SOS) program operating.
"It's clear everyone is upset over this," Thomas' statement reads. "We need the municipal and provincial governments to step in and provide the necessary funding to maintain the SOS services."
The program is a mobile service that helps people who lack housing, are publicly intoxicated, or are living in encampments, providing them with food, shelter, transportation, and addictions counseling.
Thomas urged governments to consider costs that will occur in emergency response services.
"This shelter helps get people off the streets, and it has reduced pressures on local EMS and police services. The entire community benefits from this shelter.
"I saw this first hand when I visited Shelter House about six years ago. I walked the halls; I saw people being helped in the ways they needed it. Services like the ones provided by SOS help people before they reach a crisis point and need more acute care."
OPSEU represents approximately 60 members at Shelter House in Local 738, including those employed in transportation.
Shelter House has also launched an online crowd funding fundraiser with the goal of raising $200,000.
