Downtown Chatham is not the place to have a homeless/emergency shelter.

The Municipality of Chatham-Kent is proposing an Emergency Housing Partnership with Chatham-Kent Hope Haven to jointly deliver an overnight shelter at 183 Wellington St West.

When Hope Haven was in full operation in 2019 merchants were physically assaulted, properties were damaged, people were sleeping in the ATM rooms, cars were vandalized, panhandling was out of control, and the overall feeling was that Downtown Chatham was not safe.   

Millions of dollars of future investment for Downtown Chatham could be lost if this proposal is approved. The Downtown core is where many festivals and gatherings take place, and it is simply not a good fit having a segment of the population struggling with addiction and mental health issues around large groups of people.

The Downtown merchants, residents, tenants, landlords and employees were given less than a week notice of this plan (a media release issued on Feb 24 2022). At a meeting held on March 1st 2022 they were told that there is no alternative to this plan, and that they knew of the agreement with Travel Lodge was coming to an end since the summer of 2021. 

We realize that the homeless, or those that require emergency housing are human beings, in many cases they are individuals that are wrestling with addiction or mental health issues. These are people that are in a vulnerable spot and need help, and as we have seen in the past, the Downtown Area of Chatham is not the area that an emergency shelter should be located.  

We are asking Chatham-Kent Mayor and Council to vote against the proposed partnership and let it be known that the merchants, residents, tenants, landlords and employees of Downtown Chatham do not want a homeless/emergency shelter of any kind located in the area.