The Downtown Mission is opening the doors to a new shelter in Windsor to help keep people off the street.
The new dormitories offer 40 beds for men and 10 beds for women with an overflow room that can offer another 10 beds for women in need.
The shelter is made possible though $35,000 from Caesars Windsor's "Sleighing Hunger" event.
Another $40,000 donation from the casino was also announced on Tuesday to help fund the shelter over the next three years.
Director of Development for the Downtown Mission, Fiona Coughlin, says giving people their own space with a proper bed has been in the works for close to a year and a half. "When I first started with the Downtown Mission, Ron Dunn [executive director of the mission] took me on my tour and he said, 'We have got to do something about the fact that our guests are sleeping on the floor,'" says Coughlin. "That was his goal to provide a bed for every head."
Linda Fingler says if it wasn't for the shelter, she'd likely be on the street. "When I first came to Windsor I was with my sister for a little bit and then back and forth, but now I've been staying at the Downtown Mission for almost two years."
The shelter is found on the fourth floor of the Downtown Mission's Wellness Centre at 875 Ouellette Ave. in Windsor.