Members of Essex County council are formally calling on the City of Windsor to address funding pressures affecting the county’s Homelessness Hub and overnight program, and they’re backing up the request with money.
Councillors unanimously passed a motion on Wednesday night directing staff to work with the city on a shared funding solution.
The motion pledges up to $70,000 in one-time funding from the county’s rate stabilization reserve fund, contingent upon the City of Windsor providing a matching contribution of $70,000.
The motion comes after Essex County Council received a report finding a $140,000 funding shortfall for the Hub and overnight program, attributed in part to increased security costs and in part to a loss of an anticipated $70,000 in federal funding.
That funding shortfall could force the shelter to close its doors overnight over the summer, the report said.
It could also force it to reduce daytime operations between July 1 and Oct. 31 from seven days a week to Monday to Friday.
Funding related to Reaching Home, the federal government’s homelessness strategy, flows to the county through the City of Windsor.
The overnight program has received at least $70,000 in Reaching Home funding for the past three years, the report said.