City hosting shelter village drop-in session on Saturday
CBC
People in Thunder Bay will have the chance to speak to city staff about the temporary shelter village this weekend.
The city is hosting a drop-in session about the project on Saturday.
"We have city staff who are directly involved in the project," said Rilee Willianen, the city's supervisor of encampment response. "We'll also have the operator there and the folks who are doing the design build."
"When people enter the space, [there will] be a couple different stations that they can go to, and each station talks about a different aspect of the project. So folks can, at their will, at their pace, walk through the space and go and chat with the people who they're most interested in chatting with."
Willianen said the village's operator, Demetrakopoulos Enterprises Inc., will also be in attendance.
"Residents have lots of questions and it's really good to have an opportunity to chat through those in person," she said. "We did try to pick a time that was accessible, we think to the most amount of people." Willianen added that other staff members involved with different aspects of the temporary shelter village will also be present.
The village will include 80 sleeping cabins, as well as facilities for laundry and showers for use by people who are unhoused. It will also offer support to help people staying at the village transition to more permanent housing.
The location is known as the Hillyard site, at the end of Alloy Place.
Willianen said Saturday's open house will also provide more information about the village's design, and how the city plans to share information about the project.
McKellar Ward Coun. Brian Hamilton — the village is in the McKellar Ward — said he visited the site this week, and most of it has been cleared.
Hamilton said he was "also happy to see that they are leaving some screening and some trees to protect some of the trees right adjacent to the dog park."
Hamilton said he's heard from a couple of business owners in the area about the project.
"Basically people are just holding their breath," he said. "It's proceeding really professionally. There's a lot of transparency. I think the debate is done, which is helpful, so now it's just going to be about trying our best to make sure that that this project succeeds and it has minimal impact on the surrounding businesses."
Hamilton said he'll attend Saturday's drop-in session.
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