Regeneration Outreach is a group offering services to at-risk residents in Brampton based out of Grace United Church. (Photo: www.councillorsantos.ca)<\/p>\n
Plans are moving ahead to bring a new hub for at-risk and homeless residents to Brampton, but it could take years for the up to $28 million facility to open.<\/p>\n
Regeneration Outreach Community has operated out of Grace United Church at 156 Main St. North in downtown Brampton for some 15 years, but a plan to move the group to a new, yet-to-be-built facility on Rutherford Road was approved by Peel Region Council on Thursday.<\/p>\n
And while approval to begin negotiations is a \u201cpositive step,\u201d it could take years for the new 24\/7 service hub to open, Ted Brown, CEO of Regeneration Outreach Community, says.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe false illusion that some people may have is that this is going to happen overnight. This is going to be a process, and we\u2019re hopefully going to see it proceed as quickly as possible,\u201d Brown told INsauga.com.<\/p>\n
He says the new location, currently the site of the old Brampton Fire and Emergency Services Station 201, is suitable for serving Regeneration\u2019s clients, and that the group is \u201cgoing to work with (the region) as much as we can, and hopefully we\u2019ll see some great results over the next few years.\u201d<\/p>\n
The new 20,000 square-foot service hub would operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, \u201cproviding daytime drop-in services, social supports, and overnight accommodation\u201d for individuals experiencing homelessness, a report reads.<\/p>\n
The hub proposal doesn\u2019t include long-term housing solutions, but would include a drop-in centre area, a food pantry, meals and eating areas, a kitchen, washrooms and showers, laundry facilities, a clinic, and a \u201cStay the Night\u201d program for overnight stays.<\/p>\n
It could cost between $24 million and $28 million for demolition of the old fire hall and construction of the new hub<\/a>, with an annual operating cost of around $4.5 million. Some $600,000 in annual funding currently allocated to Regeneration would be redirected to the new hub, leaving a shortfall of $3.9 million per year \u201cthat will need to be added to the tax base in future budgets once the facility is constructed,\u201d a report says.<\/p>\n Regeneration has been criticized by the city and some downtown residents who\u2019ve said they\u2019re dealing with public intoxication and drug use, prostitution, thefts, break-ins and robberies in the community \u2013 issues the city has said are up to Regeneration to fix.<\/p>\n