WINDSOR, ONT. -- The Downtown Mission has agreed with community partners to close its temporary shelter at 850 Ouellette Avenue.
A statement from the mission said it is effective at 5 p.m. on Thursday.
“No new intake of people experiencing homelessness will be sheltered there,” said the statement.
The Downtown Mission will continue to have two staff members at 850 Ouellette, 24-hours a day, to provide navigation and referral to the temporary shelters currently established to house people experiencing homelessness.
Mission staff will contact the shelters to arrange immediate intake as directed by the City of Windsor.
“With the attention that has been focused on the absence of providing real time emergency shelter services, as well as the improvement and increased capacity at the Aquatic Centre and Salvation Army, we feel confident decommissioning the temporary shelter at 850 Ouellette Avenue,” said executive director Ron Dunn.
The mission has been in a dispute with the city and the health unit over shelter arrangements amid a COVID-19 outbreak.On Tuesday, WECHU said there were about 90 cases linked to the mission outbreak.
Homeless people that were temporarily sheltered at the Mission’s 850 Ouellette Avenue location went to the Windsor International Aquatic Training Centre to receive a rapid COVID test on Wednesday.
The city says there were five COVID-19 positive individuals from those who attended at the aquatic centre. Space has been found for all – isolating at the IRC and for others, as appropriate in shelter environments (Salvation Army and Aquatic’s Centre).
“Given the clear lack of regard for pandemic protocols and based on public health recommendations, all individuals who attended at the rogue shelter and who seek entry to legitimate shelter environments, will now need to isolate as ‘suspected positive cases’ until medical clearance is provided,” says Andrew Teliszewsky, chief of staff for the office of the mayor.
“These are guidelines established by public health staff, which the City cannot ignore. As a result of his actions, Mr. Dunn has put additional capacity strain on the Isolation & Recovery Centre (IRC) facility and may have caused individuals to become infected with COVID-19 through his decision to disobey Dr. Ahmed’s Order.”
The WECHU issued the initial outbreak order (Section 29.2) for the Downtown Mission to restrict access to its shelter locations on Friday, Feb. 19. The order included keeping the Mission’s 664 and 875 Victoria Avenue locations closed, as well as prohibiting new admissions to the organization’s temporary location.
