A notice of motion asking that Windsor City Council approve additional funding to the Welcome Centre Shelter for Women and Families has been deferred until the end of July.
Ward 9 councillor Kieran McKenzie presented a notice of motion on Monday asking that council approve one-time emergency funding of up to $192,523 and that the funding be pulled from the Budget Stabilization Reserve. The motion also included wording to review the possibility of transitioning this funding to permanent money in the 2027 budget.
18 delegates were signed up to speak during the meeting - majority from the shelter; however, ward 6 councillor Jo Anne Gignac requested that the motion be referred to the July 27 meeting in order to allow administration to gather additional information. The motion to refer was approved in a 6-5 vote, meaning no delegates were able to speak.
This motion from McKenzie comes after the shelter requested $192,000 in May to expand their available beds to meet the growing demand but was turned down by the city. The shelter had requested an additional 12 beds - eight of which had been phased out after the winter months.
McKenzie says Lady Laforet, the shelter’s executive director, has informed him that the shelter continues to turn people away due to capacity.
He says he’s disappointed that they didn’t hear from any of the delegates.
“The ask was for $192,000 to be able to fund a need in the community that a very important and respected service agency in our community has identified as a need for them to be able to continue to meet what is the community demand in their experience. So the fact that we didn’t even want to have the debate, have the discussion, listen to delegates, to me was extremely disappointing.”
McKenzie says the city was already funding the extra beds, but those were phased out in order to approve a zero-based budget.
“We didn’t have the funds to be able to continue to deliver that level of service in the community because there’s different interpretations around what capacity looks like across our community,” the ward 9 councillor says. “We can have that conversation about gender-based shelter services and whether or not that falls within the larger envelope or should be separated in one way or another from the larger counts around who’s sleeping where.”
He says he’s called the shelter to see what their capacity levels are like, and he’s aware that they’re turning people away.
“And I know that for a fact because I spoke with Lady Laforet about what’s happening in the shelter in the context of declining shelter demand in our community. And the fact that the demand is declining because folks are choosing to sleep outside because of the weather and other reasons, but yet the Welcome Centre remains beyond their current capacity. I think that in and of itself speaks to the need.”
Ward 6 councillor Jo Anne Gignac says council deserves to have all of the information in front of them before making a decision.
“It was not a money issue today; I recognize that we have a $1.2-billion entity here, and that we’re required to make sure that we fund things properly and sustainably. That was why I made my request.”
She says administration is consistently aware of the number of shelter beds available in the city.
“Would it be in some instances, does that mean that for sure if somebody is looking for a bed at the Women’s Shelter that they would get it? Not necessarily. But there would be some place where you can go and shelter and not be sleeping on the street.”
Gignac says council just approved the budget.
“That, in fact, directs flow-through money to a number of organizations in our community that are dealing with a problem of homelessness and addiction. And so I know from experience that we have a plan in terms of moving forward and dealing with these issues.”
Gignac, ward 4 councillor Mark McKenzie, ward 5 councillor Ed Sleiman, ward 8 councillor Gary Kaschak, ward 10 councillor Jim Morrison, and mayor Drew Dilkens were in support of referring the motion to the July meeting.
The city provides $1.6-million annually for operations and covers approximately $260,000 in yearly utility and maintenance costs.
The Welcome Centre Shelter for Women and Families is located at 500 Tuscarora Avenue and offers shelter services for those experiencing homelessness.
It has beds for up to 32 single women and 21 families.