Addressing homelessness for military veterans, the Ontario government announced $ 2 million to help build up to 25 tiny homes as part of a Veterans Village in Kingston.
In an announcement in Kingston today, Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, announced the support of the province, including investment of the transfer of provincially owned land and funding for planning and off-site service. The province is working with the Home For Heroes Foundation and the City of Kingston to build small houses for homeless military veterans.
The announcement comes after the city of Kingston, the province and Home for Heroes pledged to move forward with the project in 2020. The initial announcement came with funding of $ 200,000.
“Ontario owes a debt of gratitude to our veterans, and our government believes that everyone, especially those whose lives have been in the service of others, should have a place to call home,” said Minister Clarke.
The Village’s location is on the southeast corner of King Street West and Portsmouth Avenue. The homes will be built from pre-fab modular homes, which will provide transitional housing for a veteran and will be a separate private unit that includes a kitchen, living room, bathroom and sleeping area.
Mayor Bryan Paterson was also present on the occasion and explained how he is honored to host the third host city of Veterans’ Village. The first two of the towns are in Calgary and Edmonton, respectively.
“We are honored to be the first Ontario city considered for a project that will create up to 25 homes for homeless military veterans,” he said.
From Home for Heroes, David Howard, CEO and President, explained how the project was planned last year and thanked the provincial government and the City of Kingston and staff for helping the project.
“It takes a village to build a village. Today we celebrate this. We have rallied the support of the Ontario government, the City of Kingston, along with local businesses, social groups and caring citizens to help make this project a reality in the great city of Kingston, ”said Howard.
“We are very grateful for the support and hope to open our third village in Kingston by the end of next year.”
To speed up the process and ensure that Veterans can be housed as quickly as possible, the Minister issued a Minister’s Zoning Order (MZO) on November 10, 2021.
The MZO allows for residential and complementary uses, such as a community room that will serve as a resource center available to veteran tenants for social gatherings and peer support.
According to an estimate shared by Homes For Heroes, approximately 5,000 military veterans in Canada are homeless.
Reference-ygknews.ca