Tiny cabin community in Chatham-Kent nearing completion despite delays

An update on the tiny cabins being built for the homeless in Chatham-Kent. CTV Windsor’s Chris Campbell has details.

A transitional housing project made up of 50 small cabins is moving closer to completion in Chatham-Kent, with municipal officials confident the site will be ready for occupancy by August, despite recent construction delays.

The modular cabins, each measuring 100 square feet, are part of a broader initiative to address growing homelessness in the community, where demand for affordable housing has surged in recent years.

“There was some delays,” said Chatham-Kent councillor Anthony Ceccacci. “There was some significant infrastructure work that was done on the ground there to make sure that the property was suitable for the small development.”

Twenty-five of the cabins have already been installed at the site at the corner of Hyslop and Park Streets, with the remaining half expected to be put in place over the coming weeks. Each climate controlled unit comes equipped with a bed, microwave, and fridge, and residents will have access to shared washrooms, a kitchen and office space designed for coaching and support services.

“I don’t think there’s a perfect solution anywhere, but I think that this is on the right track,” said Ceccacci. “This gives the opportunity to people that who are experiencing homelessness their own 100ft² of personal space with a bed, microwave and a fridge. And then it also gives them access to a common area that will include bathrooms, coaching areas, office space, as well as a kitchen. So, you know, they’re small, but that gives them their own personal space so they can actually have some dignity in their living arrangements.”

The project, estimated to cost between $4 million and $5 million, has prompted some concerns over spending. But Ceccacci said the units are built to be weather-resistant and designed with safety in mind.

“There’s always ways that you can do things cheaper and more efficiently,” he said. “As a councillor, sometimes we see these initiatives and these price tags and it’s very surprising but there’s a process that has to go through. These are designed to be very weather withstanding. There’s going to be heating and cooling in there. I don’t know very many sheds at Home Depot that you can put a heating and cooling system in. And we’re also talking about lives as well. So there’s a life safety element to this as well.”

Ceccacci said homelessness in Chatham-Kent has grown significantly in recent years.

“Since 2019, our homeless population in Chatham-Kent has increased 171 per cent,” he said. “And our affordable housing waitlist is now ten years long with over 1300 families on the waitlist. So these types of initiatives is going to help people that are really experiencing homelessness find a place to have their own suitable space that they can occupy.”

The common space on site will also include employment coaching and training programs, which Ceccacci said are critical for helping residents move forward.

“The common rooms will have a focus on coaching and training and office space to try to develop a plan to get these people that are experiencing these challenges into the best possible spots where they can then transition to their own living arrangements within our community.”

He said the goal is not simply to provide shelter, but to create a path forward.

“They’re not looking for a handout, but a hand up. And I think that, as a community, that’s something that we really have to focus on.”

Ceccacci added long-term solutions will also require changes at the provincial and federal levels, noting municipal officials are still waiting for word on any potential funding possibilities from the upper levels of government.

“Ultimately, the best thing that would happen would be the upper levels of government changing the limits on disabilities and social services and those things and lifting some of those caps because they haven’t really increased to the cost of living standards in, in decades,” he said. “So, at the end of the day, I just want to try to do our best to have people have as much dignity as possible and having their own living arrangements.”

The project has also started to shift opinions in the neighbourhood. Bev King, who lives nearby, said he was initially concerned about the development.

“They’re actually pretty good,” said King. “I got the chance to go in and see what they are and how they’re set up, and they’re going to be great for the homeless. I think it’s going to be a good thing for them.”

King admitted he had some hesitations at the beginning.

“Because we didn’t know what type of people were going in, and it really doesn’t matter because all homeless need a place to live.”

King explained he now supports the initiative.

“They just need a helping hand, and this is going to give it to them.”

The project is expected to be fully operational sometime in August.