More than 2,300 people are homeless in Waterloo region, new point-in-time count finds
Chronic homelessness increasing at average rate of 28% year-over-year since 2020: Report
In three years, the number of people who are homeless in Waterloo region has doubled a new report says.
A point-in-time count completed on Oct. 22 found 2,371 individuals said they were experiencing homelessness in Waterloo region.
That's up from 1,085 people who were homeless when a a point-in-time count was done in September 2021.
The numbers are in a report that is part of the agenda for the region's community services committee meeting set to be held next Tuesday.
The report says the fourth point-in-time count took place over a 24-hour period and was completed by regional staff and with help from more than 40 community agencies. It notes chronic homelessness in the region has been increasing at an average growth rate of 28 per cent year-over-year since 2020.
"Homelessness has most certainly and critically risen in numbers and visibility, exacerbating existing difficulties for individuals experiencing homelessness and the services within the system," the report says. "This trend warrants careful analysis to understand the underlying factors and implications faced in our region."
Mayors ask premier for action to clear encampments
The report comes as local municipal leaders grapple with how to handle encampments. Cambridge Mayor Jan Liggett has joined some other city mayors, including Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie, in signing a letter requesting Premier Doug Ford use the notwithstanding clause to help cities clear encampments.
The mayors say the clause is necessary because of a court ruling that said the Region of Waterloo could not use a bylaw to clear an encampment on regional property in Kitchener until there were enough shelter beds for everyone in the encampment.
To do so would violate Section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms because it went against the rights to life, liberty and security of the person for those living in the encampment, the ruling said.
The notwithstanding clause is in Section 33 of the Charter and allows governments to temporarily override other sections of that document.
Last week, Ford stopped short of saying he would use the notwithstanding clause, but did say the province would stand behind mayors who cleared encampments.
In response to the letter from the mayors, more than 40 municipal councillors issued their own letter calling for the mayors to rescind their request and for Ford to ignore it.
Cleared encampments make helping people difficult: Health agency
On Nov. 13, encampments were cleared in both Guelph and Cambridge. Julie Kalbfleisch is the director of communications for Sanguen Health which has a community health van that travels around the region and Guelph to help people who are homeless by providing medical attention.
She says moving people out of encampments makes it difficult for advocates and health-care providers to find them again and ensure they have what they need.
"Anytime an encampment's closed, it creates a whole lot of trauma and chaos," Kalbfleisch told CBC K-W's The Morning Edition host Craig Norris on Tuesday.
"From a service provider standpoint, we're often in there providing health care to folks who are living in encampments. We have nurses that go in weekly to help with wounds, help with other chronic illness. And so it's essentially like taking our patient load and just dispersing it all over," she said, adding more needs to be done to ensure people can have a roof over their heads.
"We need to be looking at shifts in policy. We need more housing. We need deeply supportive housing to help these folks."
LISTEN | Guelph, Cambridge advocates give updates 2 weeks after encampments cleared:
Region continues to discuss budget
Regional council has previously passed a staff plan to end chronic homelessness in the community, which emphasizes investment is needed from both private and public sectors and requires all levels of government to respond, the staff report says.
Efforts cannot just be focused on immediate strategies, but must also include planning for long-term solutions, the report adds.
As well, the 2025 draft operating budget for the region includes $60.9 million for homelessness initiatives. Regional councillors are set to discuss the budget in two meetings on Wednesday. A strategic planning and budget committee meeting is set to begin at 9 a.m.
A second meeting is scheduled for Wednesday evening where people will be able to provide their feedback on the budget during public consultations. There are currently 25 people listed to speak to councillors during that meeting.