City council approves homelessness and housing hub concept
The City of Windsor will be creating a new homeless and housing hub after council unanimously supported the vision at a special meeting of council Monday.
The city has been operating a hub model at Windsor Water World during the pandemic and learned some troubling statistics about the homeless population in Windsor — 350 people have been identified as chronically homeless.
“Our goal in the community is to make homelessness as infrequent and as short term as possible,” said Jennifer Tanner, the city’s manager of housing and homelessness.
Council has delegated authority for the city to begin consultations and planning for a 60-bed emergency shelter, which would be augmented with other supports for diversion and mediation, outreach supports, healthcare and mental health practitioners as well as addiction counselling.
“This is the best way that a municipality can respond to begin to offer those wrap around services in a cost-effective way,” said Joyce Zuk, the executive director of Family Services Windsor-Essex.
Zuk said the core mantra must remain “housing first.”
“Moving someone into the housing is just one part of the puzzle. The other major component is supporting people once they receive that housing,” she said.
There may be no example of this more glaring than what’s happening right now at 245 Detroit Street.
“It’s been a nightmare. It’s been crazy the rain on Saturday nearly washed us out,” said John Bradley, one of dozens of former residents at River Place who were evicted last week when the city condemned the building. “We survived the storm, and we’re just going to keep going.”
Bradley was originally living in an encampment near the railroad cut but moved to River Place when the encampment was broken up.
Many of these residents didn’t have supports when they relocated and now that the building is shuttered, they’re living in a temporary tent encampment out front of the vacant building, once again homeless and without supports.
“Get us a place to stay,” he said. “Get us off the streets.”
The city’s commissioner of health and human services, Jelena Payne, says it will likely be a year or two before a shovel even hits the ground, a process that will include design, site selection, consultations and choosing an independent operator.
“We will expedite things as quickly as we can, but sometimes we’re at the mercy of the funding opportunities that are put before us,” said Payne.
But many delegates at Monday’s meeting pointed out there are inherent policing, parks and bylaw costs already associated with the city’s growing population of people experiencing homelessness.
“The cost of doing nothing is far greater than the investment council is being asked to make,” said Anna Angelidis, a member of the city’s housing advisory committee.
The full cost of the project is unknown, but Councillor Rino Bortolin is asking the city to send a letter to upper levels of government to advocate for more funding.
“Are we going to solve the issue of homelessness? Maybe five to 10 years down the line we may be closer to that, but this is just a step in the right direction,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Quebec judge orders bus driver to stand trial for 2023 daycare crash deaths
A judge has ordered a Quebec man to stand trial on charges of first-degree murder in the deaths of two children killed when a bus rammed into a Montreal-area daycare last year.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
Trudeau's latest pre-budget pledge targets millennial moms, vowing $1B in loans for more child-care spaces
The federal government is launching a new loan program to help child-care providers in Canada expand their spaces, and will be extending further student loan forgiveness and training options for early childhood educators, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
Krispy Kreme doughnuts coming to McDonald's in U.S., but not Canada
Canadians will be missing out on a sweet new partnership between McDonald's and Krispy Kreme, which will see doughnuts available at McDonald's locations across the U.S. by the end of 2026.
BREAKING Calgary officer charged after allegedly assaulting handcuffed man
A Calgary police officer has been charged after allegedly assaulting a handcuffed man two years ago.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
How do you navigate the social media minefield with your kids?
Growing fears about social media's harm have sparked lawsuits against social media companies from hundreds of school districts in the United States and now Canada. CTVNews.ca wants to know whether your children are addicted to social media or if you have concerns about their usage of platforms such as Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok and X.