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
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
U.S. Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.