The Ontario government announced today it is spending $2.5 million locally to give people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless the housing and support services they need.
"With the help of Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services, the North Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre will build 17 new apartments for Indigenous people and offer services such as addiction counselling, cultural services and mental health supports," says a news release. The building will be erected at 981 Cassells St.
"Our government is committed to working with local Indigenous Program Administrators to deliver programs for Indigenous people living off-Reserve," said Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
"We're standing on a site that will have 30 new units, 17 of which will be subsidized by this program," Clark told CKAT. "It's a fantastic location to be literally across the street from the North Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre where a lot of those wraparound services are going to be provided. It's a perfect fit."
The new apartment building is expected to open next year.
"Our government is proud to work with Indigenous service providers to provide quality off-Reserve affordable and supportive housing," said Vic Fedeli, MPP for Nipissing. "Once complete, this new facility will provide both a home and the supports people need, in a way that respects Indigenous cultures and beliefs."
Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services is a corporation with a mandate to provide safe and affordable housing to urban and rural First Nation, Inuit and Métis people living off-Reserve in Ontario.
