Published on January 13, 2022 by TBNewsWatch
THUNDER BAY – The Ontario Aboriginal Housing Service says that the Junot Avenue transitional housing project is one being considered to benefit from the funding that Ontario announced Thursday, but they need to consider every project across the province to determine where the needs are the greatest for the urban Indigenous community.
“Locally here in Thunder Bay we do know that there is a large urban Indigenous population and there’s certain parts across the province that where there is a large urban indigenous population and we have to look at investments across Ontario and locally here in Thunder Bay to support our community collectively,” said Cora McGuire-Cyrette, OAHS chair.
“And so, we know that announcements like today are a positive step in the right direction. There’s an opportunity here for us as a community to even look at how we push forward and how do we support that need. How do we fill that gap together? Because funding is only one step towards trying to fill a massive gap here. And so, we really have to look critically here at how we fill the remaining gap as a community.”
The site of the proposed housing project remains a vacant lot on Junot Avenue, and there is no date for the start of construction OAHS wants to build a facility to accommodate 58 young people who are struggling with addiction. It would also provide education and employment services. According to the Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services Corporation, the issue was a lack of operational funding.
