Our Livable Solutions

Crossroad's Village is expected to thrive with a $500k operating budget for 18 cabins with 2 support staff on site 24/7.

That's $76 per cabin per night.

How does this cost compare to other initiatives? It's been difficult to get comparative financials, however, with other cabin communities popping up across the province, we finally have numbers we can compare:

Hamilton - $3.9 million annually for 80 people (2 per cabin) - $48,750 per cabin annually or $133.56 per night.

Chatham-Kent - $2.2 million annually for 50 cabins - $44,000 per cabin annually or $120.55 per night.

Peterborough - $1.9 million annually for 50 cabins - $38,000 per cabin annually or $104 per night.

Brockville - $1.2 million for 24 cabins - $50,999 per cabin annually or $139 per night.

Toronto Shelter Beds - $80,000 per bed annually, $219 per night

Linked media stories for each of these initiatives can be found here:

Our Livable Solutions - Crossroads Village Crossroads United Church and Our Livable Solutions (OLS) are excited to announce that Kingston’s sleeping cabin community located alternately in Portsmouth Harbour and Centre 70 over the past three years may have a new and more long-term home in its future. As part of its social justice

What a great crew! Tonight our Alumni, volunteers and staff got together for a pot luck and committee discussion. It was nice reconnecting with each other, especially Alumni we hadn’t seen in a little while. With full bellies we discussed a couple of new initiatives OLS is going to launch soon, in collaboration with OLS Alumni and people who are stuck outside in the cold.

As our former Mayor, now President of Habitat’s Tiny Homes, says…. This isn’t a program, this is Family!

This event was supported thanks to Play Gaming & Entertainment charitable bingo funds.

Good morning!

In our little break from keeping people safe and warm in our cabin community, we’ve been making some house calls. Checking in on our Alumni and visiting other cabin communities.

Last week, our AED visited Modular Energy Systems (MES) in Niagara Falls to check in on our 18th cabin and discuss possibilities. MES has been wonderful to work with as they’re creative solution finders who are open to collaboration, turn positive feedback into improvements and genuinely have an interest in doing their part to help everyone exit homelessness.

In response to the recent change in direction we’ve had, MES stepped up and will be building our common building at Crossroads Village for a significant (very significant) reduction in cost, and will be throwing in some upgrades the cabins need due to damage from all the previous moves.

Enjoy the pictures!

On September 20th, 2024, the City of Kingston issued a disappointing statement claiming "We are also disheartened to hear misinformation circulated by OLS placing blame on the City for not financially supporting the cabin program."

This was a head scratcher for OLS, we inquired with the city but did not receive a response. Yesterday a City Councillor finally revealed that the statement relates to a Global Kingston news report in which a reporter made an inaccurate statement. Tonight Global issued an on air apology to Our Livable Solutions.

We would like to thank Global Kingston for correcting their mistake, and we of course accept their apology. We hope the City of Kingston follows suit.

Send a message to learn more

Sweet note left by a staff member who has, thankfully, attained other employment. ❤️

https://broadview.org/kingston-sleeping-cabins/

Kingston United church's plan to host sleeping cabins in limbo | Broadview Magazine Funding challenges have meant the program, which provides homeless with a safe place to sleep, is on hold

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Crossroads Village development on hold.

Development of the new location for Our Livable Solutions’ cabin community at Crossroads United Church is on hold.

KINGSTON, September 18, 2024 - Our Livable Solutions (OLS) has entered into a signed lease agreement with Crossroads United Church to relocate the sleeping cabin community to an underused lot at 690 Sir John A Boulevard. The 10 year lease, at a cost of $1 per year, will allow stability of the program which has welcomed residents since January 17, 2022. Capital funds to develop this site were approved by the City of Kingston Council on July 9th, 2024. Unfortunately, the arrangement for operating funds has fallen through, preventing physical development of the site to proceed in step with the winddown of operations at Centre 70. OLS continues to seek community support to operate this vital initiative, and hopes to reopen its doors before winter.

OLS has been collaborating with the City of Kingston and local housing providers to find alternate housing options for their current residents. Some residents continue to be without viable options at the time of this release. All OLS staff have received notices to end their employment on September 30th, 2024, putting many staff at risk of losing their housing.

Over 633 people in the City of Kingston are currently trying to survive without a home. It is imperative that all levels of government work together to find solutions to the housing crisis occurring across the country, and to provide stable, adequate funding to initiatives which improve the lives and outcomes of our most vulnerable citizens. OLS continues to work with other municipalities sharing best practices to enable the development of cabin communities across the country. This innovative model has shown to be a preferred solution for people without housing.

OLS is thankful for the many volunteers and supporters who have contributed to the success of the cabin community and have shown our residents kindness and compassion. As we navigate this new challenge, financial and advocacy support from the community is encouraged.

Ways to donate:
E-transfer [email protected] (No tax receipt)

Credit card or debit card online at https://cfka.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=1594

Information for donors who wish to make a larger gift through securities available through this link: https://cfka.org/gifts-of-securities-information/. The donor can then inform CFKA to direct the donation to “Our Livable Solutions Flow Through Fund”.

By cheque, payable to Community Foundation for Kingston & Area with “Our Livable Solutions Fund” in the memo line. Mailed to or dropped off at 275 Ontario Street Suite #100 Kingston, ON K7K 2X5

If donors would like to direct their funds to specific areas within OLS, such as capital development, operations, administration, OLS’s Dental Fund, etc they may indicate so when making their donation.

About Our Livable Solutions

Our Livable Solutions (OLS) is a registered non-charitable public benefit corporation which adheres to the Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act (ONCA). As OLS walks alongside people navigating systems and coordinating care, OLS listens, observes and identifies challenges. OLS discusses possible solutions and enables people with lived experience to participate in advocating for and developing those solutions.

Inquiries about Our Livable Solutions should be directed to [email protected] http://ourlivable.solutions

Our Livable Solutions Why?

Today our entire community suffered a horrible traumatic event. One which has shocked many of us, generated questions and caused debate.

Our hearts are with family and friends of the victims, people who are well known to our residents and staff. We are thankful to the people who responded to this incident, who provided care to the victims and supported those who witnessed this atrocity first hand.

Many people were displaced from their homes after the incident, we ask the Kingston community to respond with care, compassion and support. It should not matter where people are from or what their individual circumstances are. What matters is that people in our community need support.

We need to come together and ask how we can help. How can we make circumstances better? How can we make sure everyone in our community has a safe place to live? What solutions can we advocate for and support? This isn't an insurmountable challenge for Kingston, we just need to try.

Please be well and be kind.

❤️

Send a message to learn more

This week we had the privilege of driving a resident to the starting location on their path to recovery, thanks to funds from Play Gaming & Entertainment. We wish them well on their new journey & are looking forward to continuing to provide support to them once they complete their treatment program.

Special thanks to Madison at AMHS for being awesomesauce and supporting this resident while making tough but important decisions.

https://broadview.org/kingston-tiny-cabin/

Uncertainty clouds future of tiny cabins for Kingston's unhoused | Broadview Magazine Delays in relocating the cabins to a local United church raise concerns among residents who rely on them for stability and shelter

Please take a moment to appreciate this stunning piece of art created by one of our residents.

At first glance, you probably think it’s unique, creative….

The artist is blind in one eye, can barely see out of the other, and loses their glasses frequently. They produce this lovely artwork without them.

Knowing the barriers they’ve over come, now what do you see?

We need your help to make Crossroads Village a reality!

City Staff's Report is now available to the public, Council will be considering options on July 9th at 7pm. Please write or call your City Councillor and ask them to consider supporting this innovative collaboration with Crossroads United Church!

Staff Report: https://pub-cityofkingston.escribemeetings.com//filestream.ashx?DocumentId=2460

Councillor contact information: https://www.cityofkingston.ca/council-and-city-administration/council/city-council/

City Council | City of Kingston A city council is a local government body responsible for making decisions and policies that affect the community. It typically consists of elected representatives who address issues, allocate resources, and shape the direction of our city.

It was a beautiful day to share a beautiful moment with our residents today.

We missed the official butterfly release with Bereaved Families of Ontario Kingston Region because of our move to Centre 70, so with the help of Play Gaming & Entertainment and Reverend Christine Sloan, we held our own little ceremony within Lakeside Community Garden. ❤️💕❤️

📸Photo Credit to Eade

Join the conversation! Public Meeting re Crossroads Village can be viewed here:

Crossroads Village Forum Sleeping Cabin presentation at Crossroads United Church, Kingston ON June 26, 2024

Curious about our potential new home - Crossroads Village? Want to know how you can help? We'll provide as much information as we can here:

Our Livable Solutions - Crossroads Village Crossroads United Church and Our Livable Solutions (OLS) are excited to announce that Kingston’s sleeping cabin community located alternately in Portsmouth Harbour and Centre 70 over the past three years may have a new and more long-term home in its future. As part of its social justice

We are very excited to finally be able to share with you, a possible future for our little community! "Crossroads Village" sounds pretty good doesn't it!!??

There is still much work to do, and permissions to seek, but we're glad to be able to give the people we support hope for a brighter future. "Crossroads Village" will only become a reality with community support. We can do this, together!

Full story here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/EasternON/s/wLATsgWKKR

We are excited to finally be able to let you know about a possible future for our little community! "Crossroads Village" sounds pretty good, doesn't it!

There is a lot more work to do, and permissions to seek, before "Crossroads Village" can become a reality. With your help, we can keep giving hope to people stuck outside without a home.

Possible long-term plan in the works for sleeping cabin program – Kingston News (Kingston, Ontario) Kingston's sleeping cabin community may have a new, more long term home thanks to a possible collaboration between Crossroads United Church and Our Livable Solutions (OLS).

🎶🎼🎶🎵❤️❤️❤️

Another resident is moving to permanent affordable housing! They gave our staff this lovely card ❤️