Talks have been quietly taking place to try and reach a consensus about the impact a 16-bed men\u2019s shelter would have on the community.<\/p>\n
The meetings are particularly important, says Huntsville Mayor Scott Aitchison, because housing 16 homeless men could require a lot of support.<\/p>\n
You can imagine a scenario where let\u2019s say you have fifteen 20-year-olds with an addiction and then some with mental health issues and that kind of thing and all of a sudden a crisis ensues, a fight breaks out\u2026 there is a greater risk of problems with a critical mass of people under one roofHuntsville Mayor Scott Aitchison<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
In the meantime, the Table Soup Kitchen Foundation, a faith-based, not-for-profit organization, has already built the 16-bed emergency shelter for men and is fundraising to get it up and running. The Foundation also runs a food bank, soup kitchens, household item exchange store and says there\u2019s a need to house homeless men on an emergency basis in the community and is determined to do just that. But the District of Muskoka\u2019s Community Services Department isn\u2019t buying into the project.<\/p>\n
<\/broadstreet-zone><\/strong><\/div>\n \u201cNobody is agreeing to anything right now, that\u2019s part of the problem.” said Aitchison. “That\u2019s why I\u2019ve inserted myself into the process to see if we can\u2019t at least find some common ground.” He said paramount among the concerns expressed is the number of beds proposed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s been some concern expressed by Rick Williams (District Commissioner of Community Services) that 16 beds might not just be more beds than Muskoka needs or Huntsville needs, but it might wind up drawing people in from other areas.\u201d Aitchison said he understands the Commissioner\u2019s concerns, whose mandate is to support and assist Muskoka residents with the funding available, but also understands where the Foundation\u2019s founder, Heather Berg, is coming from.<\/p>\n
\u201cHeather comes at this from the perspective that a human being is a human being whether they live in this geography or not, and I respect both positions. I understand that they both have mandates and they both care very much and they want to help.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aitchison said that while he supports the shelter and wants to see it up and running, he\u2019s hearing a lot of push back on the number of beds being proposed. \u201cI\u2019m being told by the professionals who work in this industry all the time that they think 16 might be a bit too many, so why can\u2019t we start with maybe four or five beds?\u201d<\/p>\n
The District also provides emergency shelter, said Aitchison. What’s missing is an emphasis on support services. \u201cPeople that seek shelter in an emergency shelter-type situation, they get served by the District \u2013 whether it\u2019s a hotel room or it\u2019s a room in a shelter somewhere else \u2013 I mean it\u2019s working, not perfectly but it\u2019s working now and the big gap right now in our system is those services,\u201d he said. \u201cI would like to see some regional funding and a formula that works best, that has all the agencies and various different players in this field working together and making sure that we\u2019re not just ultimately finding someone a bed for a couple of nights, but we\u2019re finding them the supports they need.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the meantime. shelter proponents are determined to push forward to meet what they see as a need in the community. Funding will determine the number of beds available. Discussions continue.<\/p>\n\n\t\t