Cool cash is coming the county's way.
The County of Simcoe will see an increase in funding through the provincial Homelessness Prevention Program (HPP), which has resulted in “substantial, additional investments” for homelessness prevention services and supports, including the ability to create heating and cooling centres around the region.
According to a staff report on the county’s Homelessness Summer and Winter Response for 2024-25, which was presented to council during Tuesday's committee of the whole meeting, the provincial HPP funding to the county increased from $11,352,900 to $21,084,300 for the 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26 fiscal years.
“A comprehensive approach to responding to and managing homelessness services and supports in the summer and winter seasons involves leveraging community-based partnerships and service options to augment services available at local homeless shelters," Wendy Hembruff, the county's director of community services (homelessness), said in her report.
"These partnerships and service options allow for engagement with people experiencing homelessness to provide enhanced access to indoor spaces during inclement and extreme weather conditions and to activate alternate spaces,” she added.
There are currently 224 homeless shelter beds in Simcoe County at facilities in Alliston, Barrie, Collingwood, Midland and Orillia.
Street outreach services are also funded across the region to connect people with services and supports, including shelter and cooling/warming locations.
“During periods of extreme temperatures or inclement weather, the county, in its role of service system manager, communicates the requirement for emergency homeless shelters to activate an alternate spaces response," says the report.
This response, according to the report, allows more individuals to come indoors when cooling/warming centres and emergency homeless shelter beds are at capacity. The strategy also allows local homeless shelters to offer cooling/warming facilities by opening boardrooms and other areas within their spaces so that individuals can come indoors.
“The funded shelter system can activate up to 110 seated spaces, considering fire code regulations. Also, all County of Simcoe Ontario Works offices will be open for individuals to come indoors during inclement and extreme weather conditions,” Hembruff wrote in the report.
Council also committed municipal funds to warming/cooling operations during its 2024 budget process.
The City of Barrie also funds 50 per cent of the cost of cooling/warming facilities for residents who are homeless in the city for both 2023 and 2024.
Hembruff noted a request for expressions of interest was released May 28, seeking proposals for the operation of cooling centres during the summer months — operating from July 2 to Sept. 30, 2024 — and then transitioning to warming centres beginning Oct. 15, 2024 until April 30, 2025.
“Recognizing the value of services to address the unique needs of each local community and the importance of consistency within the regional system of services and supports, detailed expressions of interest were required to identify the proposed operational model and budget and to define processes and partnerships to facilitate linkages to services and supports, including emergency homeless shelters,” she noted in the report.
“Documentation was also required to substantiate compliance with local municipal bylaws, related provincial legislation, public health requirements and a letter from the property owner confirming agreement for the use of location for cooling and warming centre," Hembruff added.
Preference was also given to operators that have the ability to run both cooling and warming operations in local communities, she noted.
Cooling centres will open during periods where temperatures rise above 30 degrees Celsius and/or receiving a "vulnerable population notification" from the local health unit, while warming centres will open when temperatures dip below minus-10 degrees C and/or upon receipt of a vulnerable population notification from the health unit.
