A local charity group has decided to make something old new again, and they’re asking the community to lend a hand.
Redwood Park Communities, in a program where they’ve partnered with the David Busby Centre, finally got the building permit on July 16 and broke ground on the old Barr's Motel site last week on Essa Road, where they’ll be converting the 17 rooms into adopt-a-unit, bachelor-sized affordable housing apartments.
While the government has done a lot to help with government housing, Tim Kent, co-owner of Redwood Park Communities, says there are many people who fall between the cracks. He hopes this project can help.
“There are many people who are experiencing chronic homelessness who are employed, who hold full-time jobs, but they have nowhere to live, and those are the people that really get left behind,” said Kent.
When a group or person chooses to adopt a unit, which comes at a price tag of $40,000, Kent says the idea is to have everything provided for the first tenants when they move in so they can have a head start on getting their life together.
That includes having a pantry full of food staples, furniture and linens all set up. Therefore, part of the price tag is set aside for those amenities.
“We want people to be able to move into their home and have everything they need,” said Kent. “We want to create a hopeful and secure space that they want to be in and they can be proud of.
“It’s not just about writing a cheque for a dollar amount. It’s about actually being involved and engaged in what’s happening with that family or individual.”
Three units are already spoken for in the project with local groups such as the Kinsmen Club of Barrie and Barrie Construction Association stepping up to adopt a unit, but there are 14 more units still looking for sponsorship.
Kent also notes that are many other community groups and businesses that have come forward and asked if they can donate services or materials instead of sponsoring a whole unit.
Alison Smith, executive director at Barrie Construction Association, says one of their board members brought the project to the attention of the board.
“We knew how important this was for the community, and our board is always looking for ways to give back,” said Smith. “We knew this was a perfect fit for us.”
In addition to sponsoring a unit, the association has also put out a call to all their members for the services that will be required so local businesses can see it and bid to get involved as well.
“We’re hoping they’ll step up and give great pricing, do the work, and work together side-by-side with their competitors so they’ll each give something back,” said Smith.
The association points to one of their members, Gerrits Engineering, contributing by doing all the site plan drawings for the project as just one example of many of their members stepping up to help.
“We’re hoping there’s a ripple effect to help get this done,” said Smith. “It’s going to be a long-term relationship.”
Kent says the idea to renovate the Barr's Motel site came from Sara Peddle of the David Busby Centre when she approached him almost three years ago.
“She brought the idea to me about renovating an old motel. So, we came to look at the Barr's Motel and started discussing what it could look like,” said Kent.
Kent says he and Peddle put together a plan and started shopping it around to government agencies. Once they presented their plan to the owners of the motel, they decided they wanted to work together.
After that, Kent says Barrie Mayor Jeff Lehman got involved and has been championing the project.
“This is great news for the fight against homelessness in Barrie,” Lehman said this week after the announcement that the building permits had been secured. “We will need more projects like this, but to start with, we need to the community to support the great work this charity does.”
Kent says once the county came onboard with some funding, the province announced some extra funding through the Home for Good program which provides funding for creative ideas around affordable housing, and the project got that funding too.
“The timing for that ended up being perfect,” said Kent. “It’s going to be a really great, successful community-led grassroots project.”
Once the building is completed and tenants move in, Redwood will manage the facility and collect partially subsidized rent. With the subsidies Redwood has secured, tenants will be required to pay about $300 a month to live in the units.
For people who want to help but can’t part with $40,000, there are many other ways to get involved in the project. Redwood’s volunteer support team, led by a volunteer co-ordinator, offers a unique model of support for all their projects.
Volunteers go through a screening process and are asked to help with various tasks including just spending time with residents, driving them to medical or legal appointments or babysitting.
“Sometimes, we take for granted the support networks we have. Maybe we have really great friends or family members who can help us out when times are tough,” said Kent.
“We have a few people we’re working with now who have never had a family. They maybe lost their families in a tragic accident when they were very young and have been bouncing around for many years. When you have that kind of trauma in your life, it’s no wonder you may develop some addiction or mental-health issues,” said Kent.
“They’ve never had that support network. Just being there to provide that kind of friendship or support can make a massive difference.”
Volunteers may also be asked to help with general maintenance like landscaping or general handiwork. There are also options to donate smaller financial amounts to the project.
The estimated completion date is still not finalized, but Kent says ideally, people would be able to move in by December before the cold weather hits.
“Otherwise we’re going to have more strain on the Out of the Cold programs,” he said. “This will take pressure off of that, hopefully.”
For more information or to contribute to the project, click here.
