FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Middlesex Accommodation Program Receives Provincial Funding
MIDDLESEX COUNTY (June 22, 2023): Middlesex County Council is pleased to announce the receipt of $873,903 in Homelessness Prevention Program funding from the Province of Ontario, through the City of London as the Service System Manager.
With this recent funding approval, we are pleased to announce that we will be bolstering the four service categories within the Homeless Prevention Program guidelines: Emergency Shelter Solutions, Community Outreach and Support Services, Housing Assistance, and Supportive Housing. These efforts will cover various programs, including the Middlesex Accommodation Program, Middlesex Paramedic Outreach Program, food security programs, and additional emergency hotel/motel stays. This funding is administered through the Middlesex County Social Services Department.
This commitment follows a request made by Warden Cathy Burghardt-Jesson to the Honourable Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, in February 2023. The Middlesex Accommodation Program, which was launched in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association Thames Valley Addiction and Mental Health Services (CMHA TVAMHS), the Countryside Motel, and the Middlesex-London Paramedic Services, provides emergency/transitional accommodations with wraparound supports to individuals and families experiencing or nearing homelessness in the County.
The Middlesex Accommodations Program has been extremely successful in its first year, serving over 100 adults and children and diverting them from living rough by providing shelter, food, and wrap-around community supports. The program has also reduced the strain on local hospitals by providing access to community paramedics who are able to treat program participants in the community.
This funding aligns with the goals of the Ontario government's Housing Supply Action Plan, which aims to increase the supply of housing across the province and address homelessness. The commitment also supports the government's Homelessness Prevention Plan, which seeks to prevent individuals and families from becoming homeless and provide them with the support they need to maintain stable housing.
“We are confident that we can continue to make a significant impact on homelessness in Middlesex County, improving access to adequate, suitable, and affordable housing for those most in need. The Middlesex Accommodation Program in Middlesex County is an excellent example of the kind of innovative, collaborative solutions needed to address homelessness in our communities. I would like to thank Minister Clark and the Ontario government and the City of London for their support and commitment to this important initiative,” said Warden Cathy Burghardt-Jesson.
To hear directly from program participants, please visit https://library.middlesex.ca/community-storytelling.
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Middlesex County is an innovative, well-run organization offering high-value programs and services to the best community in which to live, visit, and do business in Southwestern Ontario. The County serves a vibrant, growing community of 78,000 people and offers a great place to call home, offering exceptional lifestyle, a wide variety of local attractions, and wonderful sense of community.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Middlesex County Media Relations Legislative Services Division @email