By Andi Argast
After $241,000 of badly needed renovations, the House of Hope, a halfway house for men, still needs $75,000 to complete the work.
The house, located at 32 Gilmour St., wants the additional money to upgrade the kitchen and bathrooms.
Right now the house has 22 residents but only two bathrooms. That makes living tough for residents like Grant Liddiard.
“With only two bathrooms, it’s crazy in the mornings,” he says. “Everyone gets up for work and wants to take a shower at the same time.”
The kitchen is also in dire need of renovations.
There is little cupboard and counter space and the stove has only two elements.
Meals are usually a juggling act, says Karen Moorehouse, executive director at the House of Hope.
“We want to totally gut the kitchen and put in a kitchen that can deal with the real wear and tear that this place gets,” Moorehouse says.
The 90-year-old building has already received a $241,000 forgivable loan from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
The money paid for new floors, new heating and electrical systems and new siding.
The House of Hope also finished its basement and added several new bedrooms.
There are now fireproof doors and windows in every room and the whole house has been repainted.
Julie McCann administers the Rental Rehabilitation Assistance Program for the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp. She says the program’s money was enough to bring the building up to fire, safety, and electrical standards.
Because the house already has working bathrooms and a functional kitchen, no money was allotted for those areas.
“It’s not that we did not give them enough money,” McCann says. “There are certain parameters within the program that must be followed, so if the house wants to just upgrade something, they have to find funding elsewhere.”
Moorehouse says she has applied to the Ontario Trillium Foundation, a provincial grant system for communities, but it will be another month before she receives an answer to her request.
“The Ontario Trillium Foundation has a place for upgrades in their funding, so hopefully they will help us out,” she says. “If not, I guess we will just keep trying. We don’t have many other options at the moment.”
Even without the upgrades to the bathrooms and kitchen, residents are pleased with the renovations.
“This place is like a palace compared to what it looked like before,” says Liddiard. “The renovations were needed big time. The floor in the living room had planks covering holes.”
Moorehouse acknowledges that the renovations have made a big difference, but she says the work isn’t over yet.
“Now that we have the basics dealt with, we need to fix the kitchen and the bathrooms,” says Moorehouse. “These upgrades would greatly improve the quality of life for the residents.”