Despite another delay, Shelter House's Street Outreach Program is going ahead.
The city's $50,000 share was supposed to head to council for approval Monday but it will now be decided Dec. 8 after the new term of council, all incumbents but two, is sworn in Dec. 2. City manager Tim Commisso said the city fully supports the S.O.S. program but the funding needs to be committed by the new term of council so it can be included in the upcoming budget rather than having the city, which is already in the red this year due to winter weather, look for it out of the current one.
The new term will also be asked to include and extra $85,000 for the program to run year-round.
"This council technically can't do that," Commisso said.
Shelter House executive director Patty Hajdu said because the District of Thunder Bay Social Services Administration Board has already committed $50,000 to the program, S.O.S. will still start Dec.1.
"We're going to take the leap and move forward so we can get people on the road," Hajdu said.
Coun. Rebecca Johnson said she's disappointed that the funding has been deferred, especially when the current term of council is nearly the same as the new one.
"To me there is no reason to having it postponed," she said.
Coun. Andrew Foulds said he's not pleased that the city's funding will have to wait but he understands. As long as the program is running.
"It helps all citizens because this service allows other services like EMS, like fire, like police do the type of things they need to be doing and are supposed to be doing," he said.
Both councillors said this next term of council needs to have longterm solutions to poverty as a priority, something Shelter House would welcome. Stays at the shelter are up 69 per cent since 2009. Hajdu said the organization is only offering basic services like food and a roof. But on top of meeting increasing demand, it needs to fundraise for more than $500,000 of its $2.1 million budget every year.
Consistent funding would go a long way to help.
"We can only do so much in terms of what we can afford," she said.
Commisso said the next budget season, which starts in January, will likely be the most challenging he's seen during his time with the city.
