A Fort McMurray emergency homeless shelter will shut down early next year.
The province informed Wood Buffalo Housing that it will no longer fund Marshall House Emergency Homeless Shelter this week, the housing authority said in a news release.
In the release, Wood Buffalo Housing president and CEO Henry Hunter said his organization was saddened but not surprised by the province’s decision, which was based on the fact that the shelter has not operated at capacity for the past few years.
“We have been fighting to have the funding renewed every year since the wildfire, and after seeing the budget and being involved in conversations with our local MLA, we saw the writing on the wall.”
The community’s Salvation Army shelter has been expanded so the clients will have a place to go, the release states.
No one from the housing authority was available for an interview Saturday.
Staff plan to discuss the closure with current tenants of the second and third floors in the coming week. Nine full-time employees will be affected by the closure, the release states.
Hunter said the province has advised Wood Buffalo Housing it will help explore options for the building once the shelter is closed.