Hello Neighbours!
You’re invited to join your Ward 2 City Councillors, James Gordon & Rodrigo Goller and our special guest, Gail Hoekstra, the Executive Director of Guelph’s Drop In Centre. At this town hall we will be discussing the Drop In Centre’s plans to purchase the Parkview Motel (located at the corner of Woolwich Street and Marilyn Drive, Guelph), to create permanent supportive housing.
We ask that you please submit your questions in advance to James ([email protected]) or Rodrigo ([email protected]), so we can allow enough time during the meeting to address everyone’s questions and concerns.
This meeting will be hosted online using the City of Guelph’s online meeting platform. Please connect a few minutes before the meeting starts, to familiarize yourself with the meeting platform. If you have any trouble joining us online, you can also call into the meeting by phone. Here are the details:
Date: Thursday September 17, 2020
Time: 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM
Link to Join the Virtual Town Hall: https://guelph.webex.com/guelph/j.php?MTID=m9ce67bb538c15e2dc134df03ab2f52dc
Meeting number: 173 689 9795 Password: aUGEemwx832
Join by phone: 1-416-216-5643 or 1-613-714-9906 Access code: 173 689 9795
While you’re here, I’d like to share two conversations our Mayor Cam Guthrie has recently had on this topic:
Mayor’s Interview with Dominica McPherson from the Guelph & Wellington Task Force for Poverty Elimination about the need for Supportive Housing in Guelph: www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP3iib7nBhs
Mayor’s Interview with Gail Hoekstra from the Drop In Center about their plans to purchase the Parkview Motel to create Supportive Housing in Guelph: www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRwWMl1GRUo
Thank you for creating this Virtual Town Hall Meeting. While I do understand concerns re: this project, I also think supportive housing is lacking in Guelph and there needs to be more options for the vulnerable population. I look forward to hearing the Drop-In Centre’s plans for how we can better support individuals in our community. “See” you then!
Thank you for your thoughtful reply June. I agree that we need to create more options for our vulnerable populations.
This is a fantastic idea in a city with such a severe shortage of affordable housing options. We need to be doing everything possible, pulling out all of the stops, to find affordable housing solutions for the many many people that need this. In a community where the average cost of a house is completely out of whack with what people can actually afford, I support this initiative. This is an excellent location, well served by transit and public services, it’s a no-brainer. Looking forward to this coming to fruition 🙂
I live in the neighbourhood near the Parkview Motel and I support the project to provide permanent supportive housing for homeless people.
For those of us who have managed to stay afloat over our lifetimes need to think about all of the support given to us over the years from the community at large. None of us is an island. Many of us have the financial resources to purchase the healthcare/psychological care we require.
But, no one can purchase belonging to the community. Now is the time to pass on our positive experiences and energies to people who need us.
Great discussion tonight. I now understand more fully what supportive permanent housing is, and it really does sound much better than I thought. I didn’t realize that staff would be on site 24/7! I really enjoyed hearing Gail and Adrienne speak, and hearing about Lucy’s Place in Barrie. A lot of thought has gone into this and I am on board.