Bridging the Gap in Milton in 2010

Kamila Misztal presented at St Paul's Church on Sunday and afterwards answered questions. Bridging the Gap has opened its first house for three women in Burlington as has been granted permission to search for a suitable property in Milton to open in 2010 to house up to four men. This is a major step forward as it will be the first shelter/ temporary housing for male youth in Milton. Bridging the Gap are also looking to start up the Host home program and are looking for interested private households in the region.

Fifth Wheel Motel

A social worker with the Salvation Army has recommended working with the Fifth Wheel Motel in Milton to provide assured short term accommodation for homeless persons. A member of the Milton Area Christian Churches Working Together (MACCWT) has indicated willingness to assist with this project. The St Paul's M&O team plan to make a presentation to their next meeting on October 22nd to solicit their participation. They may also be able to support action to get the local Planning Act and Bylaws changed which is currently the biggest impediment to a sustainable out of the cold program in the town. The M&O team has put aside $2000 to support rent for OOTC.

Canadian Champion Friday September 11 2009

Affordable Housing in our Milton community made the fron page of the Canadian Champion Friday with a piece entitled "Region eyes site for social housing". We had it first on this blog! The paper was able to interview Adelina Urbanski, the Halton Region's commissioner for social and community services. Community consultation is promised on the project if it qualifies for funding. The paper writes that there are actually two empty blocks. The proposed site is the former Martin House.

Afforable Housing plan for Allendale

Good news! The Halton Region is applying for Federal/Provincial funds to build affordable housing on the south-east section of the Allendale property, in Milton, where Martin House used to be. Milton's Planning Dept. has been very supportive and played a key role in making the application possible. As the funding is for housing for seniors & people with disabilities, that is what the proposal will be built around. The CHS (Comprehensive Housing Strategy) specifically identified the Regionally-owned Ontario Street property in Milton (Allendale) as a potential site for affordable housing development as part of a larger village concept. While originally staff was uncertain that any project on these lands could be executed in time to meet the extremely tight timeliness under the stimulus dollars, staff has since revised their assessment. Based on a recent meeting held between staff of the Region and Town of Milton, there is a general agreement to expedite the affordable housing component on a portion of the property (south east corner) to take advantage of the Federal/Provincial stimulus program for housing. The Town has confirmed that the site has the appropriate zoning for the intended use. Staff is now assembling a work plan and a potential project proposal for an affordable housing development on the Ontario Street property. Submission to the Province will occur by September 30.
The proposal will be submitted and while we hope it will be successful there is no guarantee. We would likely find out in November if this project has been approved. In the meantime, staff will work on scoping out the project team (which we hope will include planning staff from the Town) as well as a communications plan to ensure that councillors and neighbours are kept up to date and involved in the consultation process when the project is further along. At this point in the process we do not know how many units will be proposed or what the project will look like.