Belleville City Council is throwing its support behind Not Alone Team Quinte’s Tiny Homes Project however some councillors questioned the feasibility of having the program up and running by late December.
Members of the Not Alone team presented a report to council on Tuesday outlining their plan to build a tiny home community that would consist of 10 small insulated cabins and a larger hub building that would feature kitchen and bathroom facilities and meeting space.
Debbie Lee told council in a survey taken of local homeless individuals, 93% stated they would be interested in living in the tiny home shelters.
The program would also allow them to receive supports addressing mental health issues and disabilities and would help them find jobs and eventually find their own homes.
There are still many details to work out including the location and final costs, but the group believes they can do it by the end of this year to get some people off the streets before the weather turns extremely cold.
Some of the ongoing costs of the project would come from the housing portion of the monthly ODSP or Ontario Works payments that tenants would receive.
A similar project in Kitchener received enthusiastic support and came together very quickly.
Lee told council they have received letters of support from several local groups including Public Health, the Quinte Homebuilders Association and Grace Inn.
She said they also spoke with Bay of Quinte MP Ryan Williams who expressed support for the program and suggested it could receive federal funding though could not commit to anything yet.
Most councillors expressed enthusiasm for the program but some felt the timeline was quite ambitious and questioned if it could really be ready to go in just a few weeks.
Council agreed to provide a letter of support to Not Alone Team Quinte to help the group acquire additional funding and support, and to have staff work with them on identifying a suitable location for the project.
A report will come back to a future meeting of Council.
