Barrie’s homeless protested on city streets Saturday morning, carrying signs down Bayfield Street and ending at Memorial Square/Meridian Place.
“We still don’t know what we will do. We’re in a state of fear,” said Patrick McLellan, 24. “We need more affordable housing. This is an epidemic that Barrie hasn’t faced before.”
McLellan has lived at Travelodge since Feb. 3 as part of the hotel-model emergency shelter program, but its funding ends June 30 (except for a limited two- week extension).
“We’re just creating awareness about how rent is so high,” said McLellan, standing on a sidewalk with others who had carried signs and marched to downtown Barrie.
He says it’s so expensive, he’s pulling up stakes and heading east.
“I’m going to move to Nova Scotia, move back in with my mom. I can’t afford a place here,” McLellan said. “Which is sad. Most of my friends are here. It’s hard.”
Devon Tessier, 29, has lived in Barrie for 15 years and he wants conditions to improve for the homeless, especially medical care and mental health treatment.
“Most people just need a place to stay until they can get their head straight,” he said. “Going to the Travelodge, you can get sleep, which is valued.”
Thomas Busch, also a Barrie resident, said he works full-time and cannot afford rent of $1,400 a month.
“I cannot afford an apartment,” he said. “If not for the Busby (Centre) and Elizabeth Fry (Society), where would we be?
“This (protest) is to get the word out, that the homeless need help.”
Bella Ottaviani, a front-line shelter worker with the Busby Centre, sat in front of Travelodge Saturday morning after the protestors had left for downtown Barrie.
“We’re just trying to figure out where (the homeless) are going to go,” she said. “We are trying to find another hotel to take them, but everything is up in the air.”
The hotel-model emergency shelter program was set up to help distance people during the COVID-19 pandemic, while also keeping them safe and sheltered. Ending the program could push at least 100 people out the Travelodge door and onto the streets.
There’s now a two-week extension, to July 15, for the Busby Centre and Elizabeth Fry Society to continue operations at a scaled-back capacity in staffing and reduced space at Travelodge.
On Monday, Barrie city council will consider a motion to ask upper levels of government to extend funding for the hotel-model emergency shelter program.
