Hamilton leaders are asking the city to keep an abandoned high school public amidst calls for housing support in the city.

The letter was signed by Hamilton-Wentworth school trustee Sabreina Dhab, Hamilton Centre MPP Sarah Jama and Ward Two Councillor Cameron Kroetsch.

SJAM is a key downtown asset that should continue to remain in public hands. Hamiltonians need the Provincial government to come to the table with the @HWDSB prepared to offer up real funding options rooted in what the community needs. Read our statement below. #HamOnt pic.twitter.com/GfUtISekTN

— Ward 2 Hamilton (@Ward2Hamilton) July 3, 2023

They are asking that the Ministry of Education keep Sir John A. MacDonald Secondary school in the public’s hands after it was closed in 2019.

Advocates for the move say the building is a prime opportunity for a community support space.

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In a response letter, HWSB Chair Dawn Danko says that the board has asked the province for funding for similar projects but has been denied four times.

Danko additionally says that the proposition for a community centre to be established in the building has been in the works since 2017 with a host of community partners including the school board, the City, Hamilton Health Sciences, and the YMCA among others.

This is the latest development in the city’s struggle to find an equitable solution to the housing crisis being experienced by Hamilton residents.

The letter draws attention to the fact that several families are currently living in encampments and urges the Ministry to “stop treating the housing crisis as siloed from issues relating to access to education”.

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