Council votes to end sleeping cabin program for Kingston's homeless

Marsha Wiggins calls her tiny cabin more than a roof over her head. It provides a sense of community and is warmer than the woods where she used to camp. It also offers something she treasures — access to a shower.

"I hate being sticky or dirty and grubby," she explained, standing among the 17 tiny shelters at Kingston's Portsmouth Olympic Harbour. 

"It's nice being clean."

On Tuesday night, city councillors in Kingston, Ont., voted to wind down the pilot project and prepare to move those staying in the cabins to different forms of housing. Staff are supposed to come back to council with a plan by the end of March.

Wiggins spoke during the meeting, urging elected officials to find a permanent home for the site. Instead they decided to end it altogether.

Now she worries there aren't other housing options.

"Why couldn't they get us anything before [this pilot project]?" Wiggins said, adding she left city hall discouraged.

The project started in January 2022 with an initial investment of $407,000 from the city, followed by two other contributions of $250,000 and $394,000, according to a staff report tabled at council.

At the time, it was touted as an innovative solution for chronic homelessness.

The city further committed to provide $336,000 in operational funding each year, starting in 2023.

Since the project began, the cabins were regularly relocated between the Portsmouth Olympic Harbour and the Centre 70 arena, roughly five kilometres away, in order to avoid seasonal activities at both sites.

Councillor calls cabins a shed

Council considered four options Tuesday, two of which were long-term locations for the project — one at a public park and the other at the site of a former commercial arena.

The two other options were to continue the annual migration, which residents and advocates said is disruptive to cabin residents, or wind it down altogether.

Coun. Ryan Boehme suggested ending the program.

"We have two untenable sites for a program that is essentially advocating putting people in a shed," said Boehme, who represents the Pittsburgh district.

"We would not condone this type of living for a dog during the winter. In fact, you would get a visit from the humane society and you would lose your animal if you housed them like this."

Boehme said moving the "sheds" to either of the proposed sites was "irresponsible" and would put both residents and emergency crews at greater risk.

He and other councillors also raised concerns about access to green space, fire risks and accessibility at the proposed long-term locations, while arguing the money spent on the cabins could be better-used.

"The cost versus benefit analysis is clear here," Boehme said. "These resources and dollars can be better spent funding true transitional housing for people."

Ten council members voted to wind down the program, with two councillors dissenting.

Brandon Tozzo from Kingscourt-Rideau said none of the options struck him as the "most humane," pointing out the cabins did represent a housing solution for some.

"This is … incredibly challenging because these are people who have a roof over their head," he said.

Loyalist-Cataraqui's Paul Chaves said he believed the program should end, while he was also skeptical that acceptable housing could be found for all 17 residents.

"Are they going to just be kicked out or become homeless?" he said.

Chaves said city staff told him eight housing agencies responded to a survey, two of which had more than 50 people on their wait list and four had between zero and 25.

"Currently there are only five agency vacancies," he said. "None are accessible."

Return to homelessness isn't city's plan

Ruth Noordegraaf, Kingston's director of housing and social services, said staff will work with service providers to come up with options, which could include moving the cabins back to Centre 70 if more time is needed.

"The intent from staff is that we are not displacing people back into homelessness," she said.

Thirty-five people have participated in the cabin pilot since it began, according to the city report.

Of those, three have moved into supportive housing, one into transitional housing, two into a stabilization program operated by Addictions and Mental Health Services, and one person moved into housing they found on their own, it states.

Over that time, two residents also died in their cabins of underlying health conditions, one person ended up in a detention centre and four left voluntarily to return to homelessness, the report said.

Chrystal Wilson, executive director of the group that runs the program, Our Livable Solutions, fired back at council concerns about those figures.

"To say we've got three people housed, that's a success. We've kept 17 people stable? That's also a success," she said during the meeting. "You shouldn't be looking for high numbers. We're transition housing."

On Wednesday she described the outcome as "extremely disappointing."

Wiggins said if the city can't help her find housing, it's "back to the woods."

She worried about seniors and those with accessibility needs who live in the cabins, two of whom had walkers parked out front. 

"We're just wanting the same thing you guys want," Wiggins said. "A safe place to have a home."