A dispute between two landlords and an organization that provides transitional services to people who are homeless could end with at least nine people back on the streets of Sudbury.
The accusations of unpaid rent and disputed maintenance costs have closed the Sudbury Centre for Transitional Care (SCTC) rooming houses at 495 and 519 Notre Dame. The move means nine people who were working to transition off the streets are about to be homeless again and another 12 who are precariously housed could follow them.
A volley of complaints and accusations, all of which will likely be hashed out in small claims court between SCTC and the landlords, but the real impact will be felt in the loss of affordable and transitional housing in a city that desperately needs it.
The landlords of the two rooming houses where SCTC clients live are accusing the founder and executive director, Jehnna Morin, of misappropriating upwards of $50,000 in funds between them and of not providing the services she claimed to offer; Morin denies the accusations, and alleges the landlords, father and daughter, Paul and Danièle Gervais, have refused to cover expenses like repairs and maintenance and have interfered with her clients’ recovery.
But now, SCTC and Morin have been locked out of both buildings, and while Morin said she was able to move six of her 12 clients to another undisclosed location, there are still six people at 495 Notre Dame with Paul as their new landlord.
As the tenants will potentially all lose their housing, things are more dire at 519 Notre Dame. Though not zoned residential and therefore an illegal rooming house, Danièle, in what she told Sudbury.com was an attempt to help the homelessness crisis, created a commercial lease agreement with her company, Désormais Inc., and signed it along with SCTC, a registered non-profit.
Now, she wants everyone out.
She told Sudbury.com there are currently nine former SCTC clients still living at 519 Notre Dame: four of whom are “squatters.” She has a hearing with the Landlord Tenant Board on Feb. 18, 2025 to evict all nine of the tenants.
SCTC is run by Morin, who refers to the organization as a ”baby charity” when describing the level of administration and experience. She is the executive director and associate addictions counsellor for the organization.
On their website, SCTC states the organization's objective is to build capacity within the “homeless serving sector” to help clients navigate social services, complete a risk assessment, and “develop a personalized plan to support individuals in supporting themselves and dependents.”
Since opening in 2021, Morin and SCTC take over the rights of tenants when they enter the transitional program; SCTC clients suspend their rights under the landlord tenant act and sign over their income supplement in return for SCTC’s assistance in managing their living expenses, including rent, and supporting them with addictions counselling.
In Sudbury.com’s first interview with Morin in 2023, she said she began with only one or two clients, often people she met while working with the vulnerable population of Sudbury during the pandemic, at the height of the encampment in Memorial Park.
Also in 2023, SCTC received $59,100 from the Ontario Trillium Foundations Resilient Community Fund, and United Steelworkers Local 6500 covered seven months of SCTC’s building lease. There are also personal donations contributed to the organization.
A partnership with Raising the Roof allowed more units to be created for SCTC clients.
Also in 2023, SCTC opened the drop-in centre in the former retail space at 495 Notre Dame.
Located at the corner of King Street and Notre Dame Avenue, the centre drew ire when temporary city funding allowed SCTC to extend its hours for one winter.
It caused blowback from the Flour Mill community, some of whom came together at an April 8 Community Action Network (CAN) meeting to express their concerns.
In terms of the housing situation for her clients, Morin said she decided she would end the relationship with both landlords on Sept. 1, when the lease agreement with 519 ended. She also told Sudbury.com she believes some of her former clients have relapsed due to the issue between the landlords and SCTC.
Two weeks later, Sept. 13, the two sides attempted to negotiate what is either a payment plan or a new deal, depending on which side is speaking.
Then, a few days later, Paul locked Morin out of her office at 495 Notre Dame.
Morin told Sudbury.com she had to call police to get her belongings, which Paul doesn’t deny.
And now, the two sides are at an impasse.
But caught in the middle of that impasse are a handful of real people who may find themselves back on the street.
Morin said she is continuing to house who she is able, and has moved six people to another location, which she will not disclose at this time, leaving at least nine other people on the verge of homelessness.
Jenny Lamothe covers vulnerable and marginalized populations for Sudbury.com.
