Sioux Lookout, Ont. to get transitional housing facility in 2017

A planned transitional housing housing unit in Sioux Lookout, Ont. will move forward in 2017.

At a December meeting, town councillors approved a plan to build a 20-unit facility at the end of King Street. The plan involved rezoning some land across the street from the sewage treatment plant for residential use.

"There is a housing shortage of all different kinds," Ann Mitchell, Sioux Lookout's chief administrative officer told CBC News.

"It is also something that contributes to our high policing costs. Transitional housing will be a key piece in addressing some of those social issues that we're facing."

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The facility would temporarily house people coming out of detox programs or the hospital until they're able to find more permanent lodging.

The planned transitional unit will also help alleviate some overcrowding in local shelters and at the hospital, Mitchell said.

The municipality, located about 370 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay, Ont., has been struggling with a shortage of social, or affordable housing.  The town also has to deal with a shortage of available land for development, Mitchell said.

"We do have a subdivision in the works," she said. 

"But as for vacant land, we're trying to free up as much vacant land as possible to alleviate the housing shortage."