Brampton’s first youth shelter set to open this month

By Cristina Howorun

Peel Region is about to open its second youth shelter — and the first in Brampton.

A 30-bed emergency shelter is set to open by the end of January at a motel in a remote, industrial-rural area of Brampton, near Queen Street East and Goreway Drive.

Peel council entered into a two-year lease for the 7 & 7 Motel after learning of the high renovation costs at its initial Knightsbridge location.

“It turned out that the building had asbestos and it was just going to be far too costly in order for us to do those renovations. So, we quickly put the search out for different locations,” said Coun. Gael Miles.

“And even though it is on the east side of Queen Street, the actual facility itself was quite easy for us to convert into a homeless shelter.”

Miles said the motel’s two buildings allowed them to separate males from females, and they can accommodate 30 youth — 18 spots are already accounted for.

While the original location is close to a major bus terminal, schools, social services and jobs, it can take an hour to get to the Queen and Goreway shelter via Brampton Transit, and buses stop running at 11 p.m. Plus, the surrounding area doesn’t offer much in terms of support or employment opportunities.

“At the end of the day, the fact that there are beds a mere bus ride just down the street from sig core of downtown Brampton, being able to offer a lot of support right by the mall, job opportunities and so forth,” said Dani Mills, shelter manager at Our Place Peel in Mississauga.

“It does give many, many people more options.”

Miles adds the shelter is temporary and Brampton and Peel will spend the next few years trying to secure a more central, permanent location after they’ve evaluated the exact needs of the region’s youth.

This was an interim measure,” Miles said.

“In the meantime … we also put out a proposal to do some really in-depth work on trying to understand youth homelessness in the Region of Peel. Once we know really what we’re dealing with, what the numbers are, then we’re going to be better able to plan for the future.”

The lease is expected to cost about $500,000 a year while Ontario’s Community Homeless Prevention Initiative is expected to cover the $1.4 million cost of staff, community support services and programs.

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