Relief coming for homeless people in the community

Crews put the finishing touches on the Grace Inn Shelter as it gets ready to open in early December. Photo by Alex Mahar, QNet News.

By Alex Mahar 

BELLEVILLE –Belleville’s first ever emergency homeless shelter is getting ready to open its doors on Dec. 2.

The Grace Inn Shelter is located at 315 Church St. The 600 square-foot facility will provide 21 beds, a kitchen and a work space on a first-come-first-serve basis to homeless people in the area.

“It’s not the final answer to the homelessness issue in the community but it’s a start,” said chair of the shelter’s board Jodie Jenkins.

The Quinte region has seen an increase in homelessness over the past few years,  according to Erin Rivers, Hastings County’s director of community and human services.

“We are hearing about more people living in tents, cars and under bridges,” said Rivers. She adds that Hastings County is doing the best it can to connect these people to resources including counselling to help their situation.

The Grace Inn will give homeless people a bed to sleep in, but Jenkins says the shelter wants to provide more than that.

“Our main goal is to get these people in a stable housing situation,” says Jenkins.

“We want to give people a sense of hope, there’s people who literally have nothing and want help getting back on track,” Jenkins adds.

An individual can only stay a maximum of 30 consecutive days in the shelter before it becomes a residential home and no longer a board home. Which means the main goal for the Grace Inn is to get people connected to the resources they need and eventually set them up in a permanent living situation.

The Grace Inn is a good start for Belleville but Jenkins, Rivers and homelessness advocate Debbie Lee with Not Alone Team Quinte all say it is not going to be the solution.

Affordable housing is an issue the city of Belleville continues to address. The Grace Inn offers a temporary solution to the problem.

“Not much can be done until housing can be affordable,” said Lee. She adds that rent is too high and the city is in need of new housing units and government housing.

With Not Alone Team Quinte, Lee serves hot meals to homeless people in need every Wednesday night at Market Square in Belleville. She said there has been an increase over the past two years.

“We count 93 people living in tents, under bridges and in cars,” she said.

The Grace Inn is a non-profit organization. The renovation for the project cost $630,000. The city of Belleville stepped up with $10,000, Quinte West pitched in $5,000 and Hastings County provided $7,300. The rest of the money was raised through community events, sponsors and donors.