Indwell will be coming soon to Lambton County and the City of Sarnia.
The County of Lambton has donated a property on George Street in Sarnia for Indwell’s first supportive housing project in the County. The groundwork for this donation was established by a County of Lambton Service Agreement with Indwell to help meet the objectives of the County’s Housing Development Plan to bring affordable and supportive housing to Lambton County and the City of Sarnia. Prior to this, Flourish (a social purpose real estate development services company associated with Indwell) developed the At Home in the County of Lambton Action Plan for the County.
Indwell anticipates that the George Street program will provide about 50 deeply affordable, permanent apartments. Indwell and the County anticipate that this will be the first project toward achieving the goal of 150 units of affordable supportive housing in Sarnia.
Supportive housing is a whole-of-community effort. Indwell looks forward to continuing to work with the County and engaging community members in advancing housing and health solutions to address homelessness in Lambton County and the City of Sarnia.
What is Indwell planning for the George Street Program?
The George Street program is expected to provide about 50 deeply affordable homes, with residents supported by an interdisciplinary Indwell staff team.
The George Street program will not be a shelter or transitional housing, but permanent housing with supports that encourage resident success through housing affordability combined with health, social, and housing supports.
Supportive housing is considered the most effective approach to addressing chronic homelessness. Chronic homelessness is defined as a person being homeless for more than six months out of the year. Addressing chronic homelessness is a priority for the County of Lambton and the City of Sarnia’s housing support services.
Residents for the George Street supportive housing program will be referred from the County’s by-name list. People will be referred based on current priorities, their health and housing support needs, and their interest in receiving supports and living in community.
An Indwell staff team will typically be on-site at this enhanced support program from 8 a.m. until 10 or 11 p.m., seven days per week. Overnight, Indwell will provide 24-hour on-call support and on-site security.
The Indwell staff team will include a program supervisor, housing support workers, nurses, psychosocial support staff, and addictions support staff. This program will also offer medication support, a meal program, and case management to support individuals on their recovery journey.
Project funding is anticipated from three main areas: community contributions; the County of Lambton’s donation of the property and capital; and the federal government (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation). Residents will pay rent, and operating funding will be sought from the Ministry of Health for health supports and from Indwell’s community of supporters.
If you would like to know more about how you can be a part of Indwell’s supportive housing in Lambton County and the City of Sarnia, we encourage you to contact Judy Eising at jeising@indwell.ca or 866-529-0454 ext. 437.
