WINDSOR, ONT. -- The Downtown Mission has moved into the Windsor Public Library Central location after all.
But only as an emergency shelter for the homeless.
“Temporary means as long as we need to be here. I have a one-year lease on this building,” says executive director Ron Dunn.
The Mission received final approval Monday to amalgamate the Mission’s two locations on Victoria and Ouellette Avenues.
“The fact that they don’t have to get up in the morning and leave to go somewhere else like they do at our old facility I also think is a driving factor,” says Dunn.
Last week, the Mission reported a COVID-19 outbreak.
“Right now we have 46 that’s on our guest side,” Dunn says.
Anyone who tested positive is self-isolating at the City of Windsor’s isolation recovery centre.
The library’s location is considered a green zone.
“Right now we have 63 guests. We have 75 mats on the floor but we’re only using the first floor so technically we could probably get 150-200 people in there,” says Dunn.
About 19 staff members have also tested positive for the virus.
Dunn says the Mission is down to two regular night staff and two cooks.
“Other agencies are lending me staff which is amazing really. We would’ve been shut down already had that not happened,” he says.
With the aftermath of the area’s first considerable snow storm, and freezing temperatures expected throughout the rest of the week, Dunn tells CTV Windsor the number of people requiring shelter could rise.
“This current situation drives home the point that the city needs a larger more effective shelter,” he says.
