At least 512 people experiencing homelessness in Windsor-Essex

New numbers presented to Windsor city council this week paint a clearer picture of the rising number of people experiencing homelessness in the region.

According to a report updating council on Windsor's Shelter Health initiative during its Apr. 11 meeting, there are 512 entries on the Windsor Essex By-Names Prioritized List as of Feb. 2023.

The list is generated by about 35 organizations which input data on the number of people experiencing homelessness across the region.

In Mar. 2021, there were 476 people on that list

It is important to note, however, that each of those 512 entries are actually measured as "households" which, in this context, are defined as a single person, couple or family with dependent children.

That means while there are 512 entries on the by-names prioritized list, the actual number of people experiencing homelessness across Windsor-Essex is likely much higher.

"It's not just that our number of homeless individuals are increasing at significant rates. It's that we're tracking the information a lot better and a lot more accurately," said Andrew Daher, commissioner of human and health services, the City of Windsor.

The city has also used the point-in-time count to measure homeless rates in a 24-hour period. That was last done in Nov. 2021, with 251 people in Windsor-Essex tallied as experiencing homelessness.

However, according to Daher, that method of data collection can come with gaps.

"The point-in-time count doesn't include individuals who are in 'hidden homelessness' as we call it. So that could be couch surfing or transitional housing," said Daher, adding the point-in-time count also does not include people who were staying inside a shelter when the tally was being recorded.

"So it's a snapshot of homelessness on that specific day."

SHELTER HEALTH

For Daher, one of key ways of getting people off the street is to provide them with proper healthcare. That's why, he said, the Shelter Health initiative needs to be expanded across the region.

Under the current model in Windsor, Shelter Health sees two physicians and one nurse practitioner provide on-site, primary care to shelter guests at the Homelessness and Housing Help Hub at the Water World building, Welcome Centre Shelter for Women and the Salvation Army Windsor Centre of Hope.

The goal behind the initiative is to offer primary care to people who face barriers accessing it elsewhere.

"That could be transportation. It could be location of services. It could be clients are actually kind of scared of going to these types of services," said Maj. Danny Pinksen, executive director for Salvation Army Windsor Centre of Hope.

According to Pinksen, the initiative has been successful in connecting shelter guests to primary care.

"The advantage of that type of care is that it's on site. It's in the moment."

This model of care is needed now more than ever, according to Pinksen, who said the Salvation Army Windsor Centre of Hope is operating at full bed capacity — with people having to be turned away "on a daily basis."

"Homelessness within Windsor is definitely on the rise. Some would say even dramatically increasing," Pinksen added.

As for Daher, his goal is for the Shelter Health initiative to be expanded to more shelters, rather than the three way it currently operates.

"Future iterations of this model will look at, for example, the Downtown Mission as well," said Daher.

"This is not a new model. This is a model that's been around for 20 years, probably started in Toronto as well as Hamilton, and is now expanding to smaller urban centres like Waterloo and Windsor."