The Centre of Hope is moving its daytime drop-in centre to the Marshall House property.
The non-profit is looking to move its entire operations to the building, however, because of COVID-19, this is expected to take longer.
They were recently looking to raise $5 million to rebuild their downtown location.
“Centre of Hope has been a longstanding partner on the community plan to end homelessness, and we are excited for the potential that exists in this new space,” said Rosie Keating, Executive Director of the COH.
Marshall House, a former emergency homeless shelter, stopped taking in clients at the end of January after the provincial government stopped providing funds as they weren’t operating at full capacity.
Wood Buffalo Housing, who owns the property, says this is a win-win for both organizations.
“They were in need of a new building and we needed a tenant,” added Henry Hunter, WBH Executive Director. “We are thankful to the COH and Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo for working with us to get Marshall House back in service as a supportive space for the most vulnerable people in this community.”
The Centre of Hope is expecting to have the drop-in centre up and running on the bottom floor within the next few weeks.
The second and third floors will be used for homeless people who may need to self-isolate.