George Street property donated by Lambton County

Heather Wright/The Independent

A 50 unit supportive housing development is in the works for George Street in Sarnia.

It’s part of a plan by Lambton County and the affordable housing development charities Indwell and Flourish, to create 244 new housing units to provide affordable, supportive housing.

Wednesday, Natasha Thuemler, Regional Director, Indwell unveiled drawings of the apartment complex on George Street. The vacant land near the EMS station was donated by the county for the project.

The 50 units are about 350-square feet, but the key to the development is the social supports which will be provided. Social workers, nurses, addiction and mental health councillors and housing support workers will all be on site throughout the week to help people learn how to live independently.

“We’re really intentional about a number of units and type of support that we provide. And Indwell really focuses on something which we call the local communities. It’s really important that neighbours know each other, to assure safety of the community and that sense of belonging for folks,” Thuemler said.

Sarnia City/County Councillor Chrissy McRoberts said she believes this is the best way forward to meet the homeless, mental health and addiction crises in the community. But, she said there are concerns from the neighbours in the area. The neighbourhood already deals with issues from people using the River City Vineyard shelter.

“Everybody in Sarnia has to understand that this just can’t go away. These folks don’t have anywhere to live. They have no one that’s teaching them how to live in an apartment, have care of themselves and look after things,” she said recommending Indwell talk with the George Street neighbours.

Thuemler says the George Street property has a lot of the things Indwell looks for when building. “We look at access to public transit, local amenities, services already available within the neighbourhood…We are in close proximity to other shelters and other communities and have not seen negative impact. Actually, we see the alternative that we’re now housing folks that would typically be accessing shelter. They now have a home.”

Theumler says in Indwell’s St. Thomas supportive housing project has reduced unwanted person calls by 44 per cent and drug-related complaints by 67 per cent.

Graham Cubitt, President, Flourish, which works with Indwell on the housing projects, says they take neighbours concerns seriously but adds once questions are answered, many people who were opposed to the apartments become advocates for supportive housing.

“We find that when people come and actually walk through, meet tenants, see how the programs function, see how staff interact, that is one of the most effective ways for people to have their concerns addressed,” Cubitt told county councillors.

“The reality is that when lives are disrupted by mental health, physical injury, poverty and tragically, addiction, it’s difficult for people to change their own circumstances. But it’s not impossible…nobody is by definition, homeless as a person’s experience. Every person who moves in with Indwell is no longer homeless. They have a home and it’s a real home, it’s not a transitional home shelter. So that’s the foundation, and then from there, begin to move forward.”

John De Groot, one of four people who have advocated for affordable housing since 2022, was on hand to see Indwell’s plans. He’s optimistic about the project.

“We have a lot of homeless people, and we have a lot of homeless people with some pretty high needs. So I’m thrilled that we’re finally at this point. Our little group has been on this push, push push since December of 2022 so here we are, two-and-a-half years later; finally, finally, and there’s still not a shovel on the ground, yeah, but at least there’s some firm plans.”

It will take some time to develop the George Street project. Thuelmer says Indwell is working closely with CMHC to find federal and provincial grants to help create the housing.

Cubitt told councillors the 244 units planned in Lambton will cost about $73 million. Flourish plans to leverage $13.5 million in municipal funds to secure $30 million in CMHC grants and the projects, including George Street and a development being planned at the former St. Bart’s in Sarnia, $26 million in debt requirements.

“Our lens is always to maximize the investment of other levels of government, so that your investment, which usually has to come up front in fact acts as that lever,” says Cubitt. “How do you bring investment from the province, from the federal government locally, they never walk around looking for opportunities. You have to sort of call them into call them into action,” he added.