'It looks like a home': Red Lake, Ont. area emergency shelter officially opens

The new emergency shelter in Red Lake, Ont., is celebrating its official grand opening.

The new building is right in the heart of downtown Red Lake near other social services, such as Ontario Works and the Canadian Mental Health Association.

The building houses five to 20 people on any give night, according to executive director Janalee Jodouin, and it feels like home.

"We have a beautiful living room and a beautiful kitchen and a beautiful outside," Jodouin told CBC. "Now we have an office upstairs. We have a beautiful cultural room, and we also have two additional supportive housing units upstairs."

The goal was to make clients feel like they were surrounded by family, she said.

Staff are hoping to set up a greenhouse in the back yard too, she added.

The new facility is a huge step up from the shelter's previouslocation, Jodouin said, which was three kilometres from the local hospital.

"The old building was really not conducive to what we need as a shelter. There was no space for privacy.There was no space for an office. It was an old trailer that was purchased 20 years ago for $4,000," she said. "Everybody was on top of each other. There was no space. There was no storage. There was no outdoor space. It was far far away from everything in the community."

If funding allows, Jodouin said she'd love to put two more supportive housing units in the new building.

Staff also need to do some gardening and work on a walkway she said.

Jodouin credited the town of Red Lake with taking thetime to educate themselves about the project and overcoming initial fears in order to ultimately support the new shelter and allow it to proceed.