Residents displaced by Glengarry fire will go into other community housing units

Residents who still aren't allowed home to their units at 333 Glengarry Avenue will be offered temporary or permanent space in other community housing units, taking priority over others on the waitlist for housing, as operations at a temporary shelter wind down.

According to the city, about 70 per cent of residents at Wheelton Manor have been allowed to return home, the majority living on floors one to six.

On Monday night, there were about 20 residents still using the emergency shelter at the WFCU Centre, and operations at the shelter will wind down by 4 p.m. Tuesday. Floors seven and eight, where the fire did the most damage across 34 units, are still not suitable for tenants.

The displaced tenants have been offered temporary or permanent housing in other buildings managed by the Windsor-Essex Community Housing Corporation (WECHC), officials said.

"For the tenants that were at the shelter, there's a specific plan for each of them as to where they're going to be, either relocating on a permanent basis or a temporary basis until their units ready," said Nolan Goyette, the chief tenant services officer with Windsor-Essex Community Housing Corporation.

Oneresident, whose case Goyettesaid he could not discuss, is notreceiving accommodation through WECHC butGoyette said a plan had been made with that tenant to go to a shelter.

Goyette said residents would be accommodated within the WECHC's existing housing supply but it means residents who are displaced will take priority over 8,000 people on a waitlist.

"It obviously puts pressure on us given that when we have units come available, we're hoping to pull individuals from the wait-list to place in those and we've had a pivot and prioritize these displaced units," Goyette said.

"On a typical month, we might have 30 individuals across our entire portfolio move out. So this is essentially another another month of move outs that we're trying to accommodate."

Goyette said they hope to have the eight floor of the building habitable within a week.

Andrew Daher, the city's commissioner of human and health services, said it was a "challenge" to accommodate the displaced residents within the city's current housing stock.

"But we're doing everything that we can to ensure that they're being temporarily or permanently accommodated into a variety of different housing spaces," he said.

The Canadian Red Cross, Pozitive Pathways, Windsor Essex Community Health Centre, mobile medical team and Canadian Mental Health Association were among the organizations on site at theWFCU Centre to assist residents while the shelter was open, Daher said.

Now, Daher said, the city's focus is on offering continued support to the WECHC and residents with social and housing workers available.

The city doesn't have a specific budget for emergencies like the fire at 333 Glengarry Avenue, but whatever costs can't be recovered through WECHC insurance will be folded into their operating budget.

"We understand that this is a difficult time for them and we are here for them at any opportunity," Daher said.

The fire broke out Thursday on the seventh floor of Wheelton Manor, prompting a complete evacuation of the building. Eleven people were assessed by paramedics, and five including a firefighter were taken to hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

Ontario's Office of the Fire Marshalis investigating.