@WHITBY HELP BRING THE SENIORS BACK HOME AND FIND A BETTER SOLUTION FOR THE UNHOUSED 45!
The Issue
What happened?
The region of Durham recently purchased the previous Nursing home located at 1635 Dundas St E. in Whitby.
They paid $13.7 Million tax-payer dollars for the building, that amount is said to be 5.7 million dollars more than the developer who purchased it months prior for 8 Million. This is a return on investment of 71%
With this action, we are shown that the region felt an urgent need to buy this building, although they did not have a beneficial plan for its use. It was purchased at the beginning of August, and we are now nearing the end of September but they still do not have an acceptable plan for its best use, a use that will make a significant positive impact in our community. A use that will make us proud to spend $13.7 million of our hard-earned tax dollars.
What is the plan?
As it stands the region plans to turn this very large 70, 527-square-foot facility into a “low barrier“ homeless shelter for 45 people. “Low barrier“ means anyone can be accepted into the shelter; families with young children, people down on their luck who are living in their cars or in ravines, the mentally unstable, people with addiction issues, criminals, etc. There is no need for a criminal check or sobriety in a low-barrier shelter and the unhoused can also bring their pets, so that's nice... unless some of those pets are not properly trained and end up attacking people.
Our family neighborhood is no place for a low-barrier shelter!
Is it not risky and even irresponsible to group all these different types of people together when they have such drastically different needs? Would you want your homeless relative, let’s say a runaway teen, in a room made for 3 when there is the potential for his/her other 2 roommates to be dangerous? The unhoused deserve permanent homes and proper care for their unique situations.
It has been proven time and time again, worldwide, that putting shelters such as this one in residential communities such as ours ends up being detrimental.
We want to help the unhoused too, but not at our own detriment!
These types of shelters have been known to function best in industrial areas. The region needs to find a more suitable space; such as a much smaller building in an industrial area.
The region of Durham is knowingly hurting our citizens by putting a hazard in our community using our own tax dollars.
Citizens have expressed that since hearing the news of the shelter opening they have become so full of anxiety that they are unable to sleep. Some have become so stressed that it is not only affecting their mental health but also their physical health. Our town is upset and divided, we are unhappy to be accused of being uncompassionate when we actually have very valid reasons to be concerned. This enormous low-barrier shelter is looming over our heads; literally over the heads of those living on Geenfield Crescent. You can't even call those guys Nimbys because the shelter will be located in their front yards. One definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. The shelter has not even opened its doors yet but is already causing substantial damage. The region knows our people have been crying out and yet they do not seem to care, they seem to want to proceed with their illogical and harmful plans. Residents may consider seeking legal advice in the future.
Do citizens trust the region?
The region wants us to trust them “in good faith” that they do not intend to accept more than 45 unhoused people into this very large 70, 527 square-foot low-barrier shelter…. Except for when “circumstances require it”. They also want us to know that the 45 people are being carefully chosen from a by-name list of individuals. The individuals on this list have been vetted somehow yet it’s still acceptable for them to have criminal backgrounds and/or addiction issues.
We have been informed that it is not possible to put a cap on the number of unhoused people the low-barrier homeless shelter can accept. It is also not possible for us to ask that the shelter not be turned into an injection site where the residents can “safely” take free hard drugs without fentanyl mixed in.
These few things show us that there is too much uncertainty with this very large low-barrier homeless shelter for 45 people, and there likely always will be. We can probably all agree that it is a matter of time before the need to house more than 45 arises and the province decides to turn this facility into another safe injection site.
Is this building a suitable place to put 45 unhoused people?
My question is, do 45 unhoused people really need a 70, 527-square-foot living space?
This building and this neighbourhood are not the right place for the shelter the region wants. What they are doing is akin to pushing a square peg into a round hole.
Is it not possible to find more appropriate/suitable living spaces for each of the 45 unhoused while also bringing 150-200 seniors back home with superior care this time?
Putting the seniors back where they belong would make the biggest and best impact for our tax dollars to be spent on. This is something our community is asking for and can be proud of. Unfortunately, the region is not listening to us; the people they say they work for.
This large building was made to house up to 300 seniors and they need homes too!
Yes, expensive new long-term care homes are currently being built, but there still won't be enough room for all the seniors waiting on those long lists that are only growing. The building at 1635 Dundas was created to be a long-term care facility for up to 300 seniors, not to be an enormous shelter for 45 people.
What can we do?
SAY NO TO THIS SHELTER
The region says they work for us, let's show them what we really want and need by voting to bring our seniors back home and finding permanent homes/solutions for the unhoused 45.
Time is of the essence, help to make a positive change for our community today!
The Issue
What happened?
The region of Durham recently purchased the previous Nursing home located at 1635 Dundas St E. in Whitby.
They paid $13.7 Million tax-payer dollars for the building, that amount is said to be 5.7 million dollars more than the developer who purchased it months prior for 8 Million. This is a return on investment of 71%
With this action, we are shown that the region felt an urgent need to buy this building, although they did not have a beneficial plan for its use. It was purchased at the beginning of August, and we are now nearing the end of September but they still do not have an acceptable plan for its best use, a use that will make a significant positive impact in our community. A use that will make us proud to spend $13.7 million of our hard-earned tax dollars.
What is the plan?
As it stands the region plans to turn this very large 70, 527-square-foot facility into a “low barrier“ homeless shelter for 45 people. “Low barrier“ means anyone can be accepted into the shelter; families with young children, people down on their luck who are living in their cars or in ravines, the mentally unstable, people with addiction issues, criminals, etc. There is no need for a criminal check or sobriety in a low-barrier shelter and the unhoused can also bring their pets, so that's nice... unless some of those pets are not properly trained and end up attacking people.
Our family neighborhood is no place for a low-barrier shelter!
Is it not risky and even irresponsible to group all these different types of people together when they have such drastically different needs? Would you want your homeless relative, let’s say a runaway teen, in a room made for 3 when there is the potential for his/her other 2 roommates to be dangerous? The unhoused deserve permanent homes and proper care for their unique situations.
It has been proven time and time again, worldwide, that putting shelters such as this one in residential communities such as ours ends up being detrimental.
We want to help the unhoused too, but not at our own detriment!
These types of shelters have been known to function best in industrial areas. The region needs to find a more suitable space; such as a much smaller building in an industrial area.
The region of Durham is knowingly hurting our citizens by putting a hazard in our community using our own tax dollars.
Citizens have expressed that since hearing the news of the shelter opening they have become so full of anxiety that they are unable to sleep. Some have become so stressed that it is not only affecting their mental health but also their physical health. Our town is upset and divided, we are unhappy to be accused of being uncompassionate when we actually have very valid reasons to be concerned. This enormous low-barrier shelter is looming over our heads; literally over the heads of those living on Geenfield Crescent. You can't even call those guys Nimbys because the shelter will be located in their front yards. One definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. The shelter has not even opened its doors yet but is already causing substantial damage. The region knows our people have been crying out and yet they do not seem to care, they seem to want to proceed with their illogical and harmful plans. Residents may consider seeking legal advice in the future.
Do citizens trust the region?
The region wants us to trust them “in good faith” that they do not intend to accept more than 45 unhoused people into this very large 70, 527 square-foot low-barrier shelter…. Except for when “circumstances require it”. They also want us to know that the 45 people are being carefully chosen from a by-name list of individuals. The individuals on this list have been vetted somehow yet it’s still acceptable for them to have criminal backgrounds and/or addiction issues.
We have been informed that it is not possible to put a cap on the number of unhoused people the low-barrier homeless shelter can accept. It is also not possible for us to ask that the shelter not be turned into an injection site where the residents can “safely” take free hard drugs without fentanyl mixed in.
These few things show us that there is too much uncertainty with this very large low-barrier homeless shelter for 45 people, and there likely always will be. We can probably all agree that it is a matter of time before the need to house more than 45 arises and the province decides to turn this facility into another safe injection site.
Is this building a suitable place to put 45 unhoused people?
My question is, do 45 unhoused people really need a 70, 527-square-foot living space?
This building and this neighbourhood are not the right place for the shelter the region wants. What they are doing is akin to pushing a square peg into a round hole.
Is it not possible to find more appropriate/suitable living spaces for each of the 45 unhoused while also bringing 150-200 seniors back home with superior care this time?
Putting the seniors back where they belong would make the biggest and best impact for our tax dollars to be spent on. This is something our community is asking for and can be proud of. Unfortunately, the region is not listening to us; the people they say they work for.
This large building was made to house up to 300 seniors and they need homes too!
Yes, expensive new long-term care homes are currently being built, but there still won't be enough room for all the seniors waiting on those long lists that are only growing. The building at 1635 Dundas was created to be a long-term care facility for up to 300 seniors, not to be an enormous shelter for 45 people.
What can we do?
SAY NO TO THIS SHELTER
The region says they work for us, let's show them what we really want and need by voting to bring our seniors back home and finding permanent homes/solutions for the unhoused 45.
Time is of the essence, help to make a positive change for our community today!
The Decision Makers
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Petition created on September 26, 2023