Transitional Housing in Tillsonburg: Social Finance Loan to United Way Oxford
Transitional Housing in Tillsonburg: Social Finance Loan to United Way Oxford
LCF recently loaned $400,000 to United Way Oxford, for a transitional housing project in Tillsonburg that really speaks to the importance of strong partnerships, and how quickly change can be made when everyone pulls in the same direction.
The transitional house with room for seven residents is opening to participants on May 1st, just six weeks after taking ownership of the property and starting renovations on March 17th. With the community, local businesses and partners all coming together to make this happen, the Tillsonburg Transiton House is truly the House the Local Love Built!
“Historically, rural homelessness really does have a different look to urban homelessness for a host of reasons,” Kelly Gilson, Executive Director at United Way Oxford, told us. “It was much more likely to take the form of couch-surfing and other less visible options, which made it difficult for the average person to spot a problem.”
During the pandemic, however, as the places where people experiencing homeless or those precariously housed would typically go to stay dry, warm, and clean-clothed, the face of rural homelessness started to change to one that was much more visible. “In many rural communities, this was often the first time people realized that homelessness was impacting our citizens, these are our neighbours and friends and families, and we must do something,” Kelly said.
Because the population base in rural communities is so spread out, a more regional approach often has to be taken when tackling homelessness. In Oxford’s case, the only emergency shelter in the county is in Woodstock, meaning that people in Tillsonburg have traditionally had to relocate away from friends and family in order to access other support systems that could help them out of homelessness.
Wrap-around support systems are often needed to truly help people in transitional housing find a permanent home. The Tillsonburg transitional home will provide these services, along with setting a monthly rent cap at $600 and allowing a length of stay of up to 364 days, to really provide a platform for the participants to build stability from. These features are as much a part of this project as the roof over the participants' heads, as Kelly explains;
“Throughout all our processes and due diligence on this project, the Board’s commitment from the get-go was that not only would we be investing in and purchasing the house, but it was equally as critical to have the supports in place to help people. We can’t have one without the other.”
This is where the first partnership comes in. Oxford County Community Health Centre's (OCCHC) Housing Outreach will be providing wrap-around services to support individuals in building basic life skills such as budgeting, goal-setting, mental health, sense of wellbeing and confidence. Those supports will help residents achieve future success in living independently in stable housing. As a non-profit themselves, OCCHC’s partnership with United Way Oxford, a key funder of their community outreach efforts, has helped secure a source of long-term funding to help with their own work.
Funding the purchase and renovation had its own issues though, with a traditional mortgage being a costly and inflexible option that wasn’t ideal. United Way Oxford’s close relationship with Oxford Community Foundation proved to be valuable here, and it was in fact through discussions with them that their Executive Director suggested that LCF might be able to help, and set up an introductory meeting which lead to the agreement of the loan.
“This opportunity is a game-changer for us. The creativity and generosity in the offer from the London Community Foundation really allowed us to jump into this project with both feet,” Kelly said. “The flexibility with this 10-year loan allowed us to make the most of the situation, and to be really well set financially to move forward with this project.”
The flexible financing options, personal approach to loans, and desire to get to “yes” that LCF adopts when considering social finance loans is exemplified in the Tillsonburg transitional home, and highlights just how powerful a tool social finance can be for making a positive impact on our communities.