City of Windsor rails against federal homelessness funding reduction

Windsor city council is dealing with a “head-scratcher” after learning federal funding for homelessness initiatives will reduce by 75 per cent over the coming years.

Dozens of cities across Ontario, including Windsor, got a letter this week from the federal government advising them grants through the ‘Reaching Home’ funding stream will drop from the $3.5 million it receives today, to below $1 million in 2026-2028.

“We are concerned that by 2026, 2027, if we don't continue to advocate, we don't continue to look for additional funding, we will lose that and that will impact our community,” said Andrew Daher, the human and health services commissioner at the City of Windsor.

The city currently uses that funding for its Homelessness and Housing Help Hub — also known as the H4 Hub.

Just this year, 1,600 people used the service, and 600 found housing, according to Daher.

“I can't quite understand it. No one on city council can understand why the funding is being so dramatically cut for a program that's working so well,” said Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens.

Dilkens tells CTV Windsor the H4 Hub model, currently temporarily located at the former Waterworld site on Wyandotte Street East, has been so successful the city is also coming close to choosing a location for a permanent H4 Hub. The city currently uses its federal funding for operational needs at the hub.

Daher said this change in funding puts the centre’s future in jeopardy.

“We might have to look at other programs or there might be impacts to other programs in order to find that additional funding,” Daher said.

According to the federal government, Reaching Home “supports the goals of the National Housing Strategy, in particular, to support the most vulnerable Canadians in maintaining safe, stable and affordable housing and to reduce chronic homelessness nationally by 50 per cent by fiscal year 2027 to 2028.”

During the program, Reaching Home has committed nearly $4 billion to Canadian cities to address homelessness.

Infrastructure Canada, which currently delivers the funding, was unable to provide a comment on the looming reduction in funding.

Council opted Monday night to write a letter to the feds, as well as advocate with other affected municipalities through the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, asking the government restore the funding.

“In order to open the doors and keep the heat on and the lights on and provide that service, we need the federal government to do their part,” said Dilkens. “And if they're not providing the money, boy, that's a huge weight for the residential taxpayer to have to pick up.”