Former Vincent Massey Public School in Cornwall, Ontario, March 2024
The City of Cornwall, Ont., wants to open a former school as a supportive housing site this autumn, but some residents are worried and say the community outreach leaves a lot to be desired.The building which once housed Vincent Massey Public School is now where the City of Cornwall, Ont., is planning supportive housing units.
Residents drawn from Cornwall's list of about 75 self-identified homeless people might rent units at the site for up to four years, with help to "get stabilized to move into potentially an apartment in a community housing facility," city officials said at a Feb. 13 council meeting. "By removing the cabins from the equation, you've taken a lot of heat off this project," echoed Coun. Claude McIntosh.A subsequent Feb. 22 public information session was "a public relations disaster," McIntosh told CBC, with people expressing concerns about the project's location — and the city's record of public engagement.
While McIntosh said some of the comments reflected an "I'm not against this, but not in my neighborhood" perspective, he felt the session should have happened months earlier.Angie Baker, who lives behind the high school and attended the meeting, believes something needs to be done about Cornwall's homelessness problem."Then, finally, they invite us to a February information session.
Coun. Fred Ngoundjo, who supports the project but not the location, wondered if the city couldn't instead keep people housed at"We are actively engaging with the owner of property to discuss options beyond our current arrangement," a city spokesperson said via email.
The latest plans are "vastly different" from those unveiled last autumn before designers became involved, the mayor noted.