It’s the end of an era at House of Friendship, as demolition of the former home of its Men’s Shelter is slated to begin this month, along with neighbouring administrative buildings.
This demolition of the former Charles Street campus in downtown Kitchener is the first step towards creating Friendship Village – a new housing complex that will provide 170 units of supportive and affordable housing.
“For more than four decades, House of Friendship’s Men’s Shelter provided critical shelter and support for men experiencing homelessness,” said Housing Director Jennifer Scott. “Over the years, thousands of individuals were able to find a warm bed, a hot meal and welcoming smiles from the dedicated shelter team, thanks to the support of this community.
“As demolition begins on Charles Street, we can look back with pride on these decades of care that Waterloo Region residents have provided through their faithful support of our shelter program. We could not have operated these many years without having the community behind us. Today, we look forward to what the future will bring through Friendship Village – and the many more lives that will be impacted through this initiative.”
Building on the success of House of Friendship’s ShelterCare (www.sheltercare.ca) program in Waterloo, Friendship Village will provide a range of wraparound supports for its residents:
The housing complex will be built on the land formerly occupied by House of Friendship’s men’s shelter at 63 Charles St. E., along with adjoining properties. This new building will add to the existing affordable and supportive housing buildings on site, Charles Village (75 Charles St) and Eby Village (52 Eby St), which currently provide permanent housing to 86 adults. House of Friendship administrative offices will also be co-located in Friendship Village.
House of Friendship has provided supportive housing on Charles Street for over three decades. In addition to providing housing that is affordable, supportive housing also includes wrap-around supports and staffing to help residents successfully live independently and not return to homelessness.
Construction timelines for this ambitious new project are still being finalized as House of Friendship works to secure key funding support from various levels of government.
To learn more about the Friendship Village project, please visit www.houseoffriendship.org/friendshipvillage.
House of Friendship’s administrative offices have temporarily relocated to 3A-236 Victoria St. N., Kitchener, for the duration of the project.
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