A community approach to solving homelessness
The Guelph & Wellington Task Force for Poverty Elimination is the community champion for this campaign. Long-time advocates for homelessness, the Poverty Task Force is sharing their knowledge and voice to provide valuable insight and help educate the community that homelessness is solvable.
Fundraising & fund management co-leads
A campaign of this scale and importance needs lots of hands and experience to guide us to our goal. That is why The Guelph Community Foundation and United Way Guelph Wellington Dufferin are partnering on the Home for Good Campaign.
Both organizations are longtime community leaders in fundraising and community building with proven experience working together, most recently to lead the COVID-19 Community Response Fund, an urgent call for donations and support to help address critical needs brought about by the pandemic.
Together, they are leading all aspects of the campaign including community outreach, fundraising, fund management and allocation. The community will see many of their volunteers and staff supporting the campaign, making asks and helping to champion the fundraising goals.
The Project Builders
Funds raised in the Home for Good Campaign will help complete three essential Permanent Supportive Housing building projects which, when completed in 2024, will reduce Guelph-Wellington’s homeless population by about half.
Kindle Communities Apartments
Lead Agency: Kindle Communities
This new building will be a 5-storey supportive housing facility with 32 400-square-foot units, built adjacent to an existing residential community at 85 and 89 Willow Rd. The project is a partnership between Kindle Communities and the Guelph Community Health Centre (GCHC). The project would not be possible without the very generous donation of land from Skyline Group of Companies.
The project includes 3,000 square feet of shared space for residents, community kitchens, indoor and outdoor eating areas, bike storage, cultural and spiritual rooms and spaces, and will beautify the existing community with the addition of natural footpaths, lighting, and safety improvements. The project will be a fully accessible, purpose-built apartment building which is both affordable and fully integrated into the Shelldale community. The building is set to open to residents in July 2024.
Grace Gardens
Lead Agency: Stepping Stone
Guelph’s Stepping Stone (formally known as the Drop In Centre) purchased and completed a major renovation of the Parkview Motel at 721Woolwich St. The hotel on the site served as an emergency shelter since 1986. The property is now home to permanent supportive housing apartments, with units that open into common areas, and doors that open into outside areas.
Each individual unit is equipped with a kitchenette, private bathroom, bed and sitting area. There are also common shared amenities, including meditative gathering spaces, a common indoor space with a community kitchen, laundry and family-style seating where people can share a meal together. Offices and comfortable private consultation rooms for staff to meet residents privately have also been included. This project opened in July 2023.
Bellevue Support Housing
Lead Agency Wyndham House
This supportive housing project is a purpose-designed space by Wyndham House to address the housing and support needs of the 22% of those on the By-Name-List who are youth. Youth experiencing homelessness are often survivors of trauma, and many need help to manage mental health and addiction issues. Research shows the key to supporting youth is to live in environments that are safe and private, and where there is constant professional support. Staffed by caring adults 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, Wyndham House home for youth is one of the first supportive housing facilities of its kind in the country designed specifically for youth based on the best research available. The project is housed in a beautiful historic 3-bedroom property and family home close to downtown Guelph (which was previously used as a group home operated by the agency) and includes 8 units, each with their own bathroom, mini-fridge and kitchenette for snacks. This project opened in May 2023.
