After taking February off, the Social Services Committee of Wellington County is getting together again… for the last time. Sort of. Next month, a new joint committee between the City of Guelph and the County of Wellington takes over, but for this month *this* committee will tackle reports about construction projects, resolutions from the Guelph council, and the findings from a symposium held just a few weeks ago (and will be held again in a few weeks time).
NOTE: This meeting takes place at 1 pm in the lower meeting room at the Wellington County’s offices at 138 Wyndham Street North (the old post office).
65 Delhi Street Project Update 4 – This transitional housing project is on track to be completed later this year, and this report lays out in point form all the work that’s been done in the last month, and what work is coming up in the next month.
Social Services Financial Statements as of February 29, 2024 – The only thing included in the agenda for this item is the actual financial statements, but County staff may have some commentary in the actual meeting. It appears though that near the end of the first quarter of the year, social services spending is on or near budget for the year-to-date.
New Wellington-Guelph Centralized Child Care Application and Waitlist – As previously announced, the County will be launching a centralized waitlist for childcare next month as a response to increased demand in the region. All licensed child care programmes and authorized recreational programmes as defined under the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014 and its regulations will be provided access to the Wellington-Guelph Child Care Application and Waitlist. Not only will this help people find childcare and other programmes, but the data collected will also help the County plan for the future provision of service too. The cost of this program was covered in this year’s County budget, but the cost of the software itself is covered 100 per cent by the federal government.
Reaching Home: One-Time Winter 2023-24 Unsheltered Homelessness Response Funding – The federal government made this one-time funding available to the County and it’s been used to temporarily expand shelter spaces, pay for the temporary storage of belongings, buy supplies, increase available services like meals and warming spaces, and provide rent assistance to people at risk of homelessness. Staff will be bringing a full report back to the committee in June that will include data on how many people were assisted in each of those areas.
23 Gordon Street Guelph Project Update – Things have been proceeding briskly with the expansion of Stepping Stone’s Gordon Street shelter. Stepping Stone has been working with Grinham Architects on a high-level design and County staff have been working with Demikon Construction to finalize the construction contract and the budget, which is a little less than $5 million. The committee will be asked to approve the tender on condition of the funding presentation that will be coming to county council at the end of this month.
2024 Ontario Works Service Plan Submission – Since 2024 marks the first year of a new four-year planning cycle, which comes at the same time that Ontario Works is being re-organized to no longer deliver employment and training support (that will now be done by Employment Ontario). The Service Plan includes information about caseloads and how the County intends to deliver effective and timely services, and this four-year plan does not foresee any high-risk problems over the next service period. The committee will be asked to receive the report for information.
Summary of January Health and Housing Symposium – You may recall that the County hosted a Health and Housing Symposium at the end of January, but since it was closed to the media and the public there wasn’t a lot to report from it. This report is the first official word breaking down what was covered at the symposium including what was discussed and who was discussing it. There were 102 participants in all and among the key objectives reached were the integration of health and housing services, more harm reduction, more communication about the waitlist for housing and the needs, and the urgent need to cover the basics for people experiencing homelessness. There will be a follow-up symposium on April 17, and it will be open to the public via live-stream in the morning, and covered all day by the media.
Intimate Partner Violence Presentation Post County Council Update – A report on Intimate Partner Violence was presented to County Council at the end of last month by Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis executive director Sly Castaldi and public educator Cindy McMann. No motion was made by council coming out of that presentation, and no report for this item was attached to this agenda.
City of Guelph Correspondence to Minister of Health from January 2024 – Back in January, Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie sent a letter to Minister of Health Sylvia Jones asking for financial support for the Sanguen Health Van. The Social Services committee approved additional funding for the program in November, but the City of Guelph did not. Their funding from Health Canada runs out at the end of this month. The only material attached to this item is the letter.
City of Guelph Council Resolutions adopted February 14, 2024 – You may recall that Guelph City Council had a meeting about a proposed public space use bylaw last month and out of that came some recommendations that involved the County. Specifically, there are two clauses that referenced the County, one asking for tools, resources and data on access to permanent shelter, and another to promote fire education at encampments along with other front-line workers. The only material attached to this item is a letter to the County from the City Guelph’s clerk’s office on behalf of council.
Guelph Politico 