3.0 Current State of Emergency Shelter Services in Windsor Essex
Windsor Essex’s Emergency Shelter Services
Windsor Essex’s emergency shelter system has spaces for women and men 28 and utilizes motels for families. There are 151 emergency shelter beds offered by the Welcome Centre Shelter for Women & Families, the Salvation Army and the Downtown Mission, which are outlined in the following table. The City of Windsor provides funding through the Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative for emergency shelter services at the Welcome Centre which includes 12 beds for women and 10 motel rooms for families, and to the Salvation Army for 26 beds for men. The Downtown Mission is benevolently funded. It should be noted that although the Salvation Army is contracted for 26 beds, it uses up to the 30 beds that it has available. Also, while 10 motel rooms are core-funded under contract, an average of 24 beds are occupied. In total, the three shelter service providers provide up to 174 beds. It is also recognized that there are additional shelters with varying funding sources that serve survivors of domestic violence, women, men, youth, families, and refugees. There are currently no emergency shelter beds located in the County of Essex. County residents have to access shelter services in Windsor. Transportation may be provided for Essex County residents who are eligible for emergency shelter services.
Emergency Shelter Service Providers Serving Individuals Experiencing Homelessness Pre-Pandemic
| ShelterServiceProvider | Shelter | Client Group | Beds | OverflowBeds /Crash mats | Total Beds / Crash mats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salvation Army | Men 18 years and older | 26 | 4 | 30 | |
| Welcome Centre | Shelter for Women | Women 18 years and older | 12 | 5 | 17 |
| Motel | -Families with dependants under age 18-Couples -Overflow of single women when shelter is over capacity | 10 rooms | 14 rooms provided on average in 2019 | 24 | |
| Downtown Mission | Anyone over the age of 16 | 103 | 35 | 138 | |
| Total | 151 | 58 | 209 | ||
In response to the pandemic, communities had to make adjustments to emergency shelter services to provide appropriate physical distancing and establish locations for people experiencing homelessness to
- 28 Individuals can access shelter based on how they identify their gender. Individuals identifying as a non-binary gender can access the shelter they feel most comfortable in, although some do not feel safe accessing existing shelters 16