FORT FRANCES – HOPE, a hub of essential services and housing support, is now complete.
The District of Rainy Rainy River Services Board (DRRSB) announced the hub’s completion Thursday and held a gathering at its home on Victoria Avenue to celebrate it.
HOPE is an acronym for Housing, Opportunity, Progress and Empowerment.
The range of services housed at 324 Victoria Ave. will include the Safe Bed program already provided by the Canadian Mental Health Association and new transitional housing services offered by DRRSB.
The former church building will continue to house the Out of the Cold warming centre, operated seasonally to provide crucial support during colder months.
The HOPE hub’s services “are not only offering immediate relief but also laying the groundwork for long-term stability and independence,” said Sandra Weir, the DRRSB’s integrated services manager.
Th building was renovated in three phases, DRRSB spokesperson Heather Latter explained in an email to Newswatch.
The first phase focused on the Safe Bed program, which offers short-term, temporary residential support to individuals in need due to a mental health crisis or other reasons.
Then came renovation of the warming centre, which is open from November to April for people experiencing homelessness.
Phase 3, said Latter, involved “renovation to the second floor to offer transitional housing for those individuals that are homeless or most vulnerable in our district with mental health or addiction issues.”
A news release from the DRRSB said a “soft opening of the transitional housing services is expected in November. The DRRSB looks forward to launching this initiative and the positive impact it will have on the community.”
