First look at Micro-Modular Shelter community for homeless Londoners before opening next week

The city’s 60 micro-shelter project is nearing completion, and CTV London’s Daryl Newcombe got a tour of the lot.

The first residents will move into London’s Micro-Modular Shelter community next week.

On Friday, city staff led a tour of the soon-to-be completed facility in a farm field on Cheese Factory Road where 50 prefabricated structures for single individuals and 10 designed for couples will eventually house 70 people currently living unhoused.

Larger trailers will provide space for meals, bathrooms, showers, laundry, and recreation.

“This is not meant to be something permanent,” Mayor Josh Morgan said as the tour began. “This is an emergency temporary shelter that we’ve had to build.”

Morgan initiated the project last fall in a directive to city staff.

The intent is to provide an opportunity for unhoused Londoners to stabilize before progressing into more traditional housing.

“In the encampments, they’re looking for a space that’s a little bit warmer than where they are right now. Getting out of the cold, especially in winter,” explained Deon Rocha of Housing Stability Services. “I can say that a lot of people are eager to be coming here.”

Each of the Micro-Modular Shelters has an independent heating/cooling system, a bed, small table, and chair.

Larger communal trailers for recreation include repurposed lounge furniture from Dearness Home, wi-fi, board games, and eventually televisions.

Participants on the tour experienced frigid temperatures and blustery wind while moving between the shelters in the remote field south of Highway 401.

However, the city suggests weather conditions were considered in the design of the facility.

“The perimeter fencing is actually going to have some cloth covering on it, which will help mitigate some of the wind blowing across the open field,” Deputy City Manager of Social and Health Development Kevin Dickins told CTV News. “Beyond that, we have nine common-area trailers that are all going to be heated.”

The shelter will offer some transportation for residents, but the lack of a sidewalk to the bus stop on Cheese Factory Road, and proximity to Highway 401, have raised safety concerns among some advocates for homeless Londoners.

The mayor told CTV News he can’t guarantee safety for residents, “I can never give a guarantee that people will be safe anywhere in the city. You know, there’s streets everywhere. There’s traffic on streets, people have to [act] safe. But what we have here is a site that is managed, a site that has warm spaces, community trailers, it’s got washrooms, it’s got food. That’s much safer than living out in the elements.”

Residents will sign participation agreements that include a list of expectations and rules.

Their shelter allowance from Ontario Works or ODSP will contribute to covering some of the costs.

Dickins says there will be a no-guest policy when the facility opens, “We want to make sure people have the opportunity to create community within the space. As you start to welcome guests in, you start to increase the number of people on site, which can deplete your resources pretty quickly.”

The city has also considered how to address alcohol or cannabis products on site, “We don’t want to be inviting any of that stuff on site, but we understand people may use that as they would anywhere else, and we want to make sure it’s done in a very safe and appropriate manner.”

The next couple days will see the installation of lighting, setting up of furniture, and final utility connections.

“We need to complete electrical to support trailers [and] a little bit of plumbing work. We need to make sure those pipes are insulated before we turn the water on,” explained Ashley Rammeloo, director of Water, Wastewater, and Storm Water. “Other than that, we’re just about set to open”

Rammeloo praises the dedicated team of contractors and city staff for meeting a rapid construction timeline, “Every company that has come in has really understood the end goal here and has been fantastic to work with. They’ve coordinated with others, contractors helping other contractors out on site with things like snow removal and placing equipment.”

Council approved spending up to $7 million to construct and operate the site until April 2027.

The mayor says beyond that date, the future of the site will depend on the state of the homelessness crisis.

“You have mayors calling for this to be elevated to the top of the provincial agenda, and we’re willing to work in partnership to try to take a real run at solving homelessness in this province,” Morgan said. “If we don’t do a good job, there’s going to be a continued need for the site.”

Day to day operations have been contracted to private investigation and security firm Xpera.

People will be moved onto the sight in small numbers until eventually reaching the anticipated 70 residents.