Just short of one year from Yorkton's 2010 flood, the last disaster victims still housed at SIGN on Broadway have left the building.
As of last month, two residents were still staying in rooms in the former hotel, now operated by the non-profit Society for the Involvement of Good Neighbours. In May, those residents received a six-month notice to vacate by the end of June.
"We had met with the city on numerous occasions, kind of doing walkthroughs, and we weren't up to code to be housing people," explained SIGN's executive director, Andrew Sedley. "And so they had asked us to start moving away from that."
Shelter at SIGN was provided for flood victims at the expense of the Provincial Disaster Assistance Program (PDAP) as a temporary emergency measure in the aftermath of the Canada Day flood. The rooms were never meant to be used for long-term housing, noted Sedley.
The director said he believes that PDAP has located new accommodations for both disaster victims, but a family member of one resident told Yorkton This Week that the program's housing assistance has ended. That resident is now living in private accommodations while repairs to her home continue.
As beds will no longer be provided at SIGN on Broadway, the organization is looking at new uses for the facility's rooms, said Sedley.
"I see that building as kind of a community hub: an opportunity to be almost a one-stop hub for different services that people may need."
The building may be renovated if SIGN finds the work to be financially feasible.
