A local project that would support marginalized communities in Thunder Bay is looking to get back on track.

Tiny Homes offers a small place to live for people who are homeless or have a low income.

At-Large Councillor Aldo Ruberto is hoping that as we ease out of the pandemic, Tiny Homes can soon be launched as a pilot project.

“Everything got derailed by COVID, the city closed down,” said Ruberto. “We have a lot of research to do like find out type kind of home, what’s it going to look like, what’s it going to cost, what’s the sewer going to cost, what’s the lighting going to cost, where are we going to do it.”

Ruberto went onto say, “As soon as you put a marginalized person or  person who is down or out into a home, especially a home that’s singular and doesn’t have apartments all around it or anything like that, there is a 33 per cent increase in that person’s mental and physical health.”

Ruberto estimated that the annual cost to Thunder Bay to take care of a homeless person is between $60,000 to $120,000 a year.

It’s unknown whether the city will seek provincial or federal funding if the project gets the future green light.