Northeastern Ontario cities grapple with increase in visible homelessness

Sault Ste. Marie Coun. Luke Dufour has been watching discussions unfold in Sudbury surrounding growing homeless encampments in the city's downtown. Dufour considers Sault Ste. Marie "lucky" to not have large homeless encampments like Sudbury's — though he knows levels of visible homelessness are rising in his city too. 

"In order to not go there we need to get really serious about putting substantial funds towards not just homeless shelters, but transitional and supporting housing," said Dufour, who is also the chair of the District of Sault Ste. Marie Social Services Administration Board. 

"So that's where we're trying to steer the ship so to speak in Sault Ste. Marie is to substantially increase the availability of transitional and supportive housing in our community as a way of forestalling these kinds of encampments." 

Cities throughout northeastern Ontario are putting a substantial focus on homelessness — and rethinking how best to support people. 

Focus on transitional housing

Communities across Ontario must complete Point in Time counts by December 15, which will provide a snapshot of levels of homelessness. While Sault Ste. Marie does not yet have final numbers, Dufour is expecting to see an increase. 

"I base that just on my daily experience you know living working and fielding calls from the downtown. It's very clear in our community that the levels of visible homelessness have increased throughout the pandemic," Dufour. 

With that increase in visible homelessness, Dufour said the city identified gaps that exist and began to overhaul its shelter system. The city increased shelter operation funding so that wages for shelter workers could be increased, and used COVID relief money to invest in new shelter spaces — which will include transitional units. 

The Soo isn't the only city rethinking how it serves people experiencing homelessness. In North Bay, city councillor and chair of the Nipissing District Social Services Administration Board, Mark King, said the city plans to move away from low barrier shelters. 

"As a matter of fact by December of 2022 we are hoping that we're able to basically mothball a low barrier shelter, which was temporary, King said. 

"Because what we're seeing in this process is people in one door and out the other door the next morning basically."

Instead, King said the city is working on a project called Gateway House, which will provide transitional housing, focused on providing people with the supports they need, and moving them toward permanent housing. 

"We have to be able to know that we're making a dent in the problem and that it's not getting out of control," King said. 

Pandemic's 'silver lining' 

In Timmins, the chair of Living Space emergency shelter said there is enough shelter capacity for everyone who needs a bed this winter, though he knows not everyone who is unhoused will seek out a shelter bed. 

"People have a preference, right, whether it's they feel threatened by somebody else who may be staying at the shelter, or whatever the case may be that results in them you know staying in an encampment, but we're still able to leverage the services to help them as well," said Brian Marks, who is also the CAO for the Cochrane District Social Services Administration Board.

Marks said a "silver lining" from the COVID-19 pandemic is that agencies "broke down all the barriers" to help people. Because of risks associated with large congregate settings, people were offered rooms in a college dorm. Marks said there was a short window to work with before the college needed the residence back. 

"So I mean we leveraged that deadline with all of the agencies and said we've got 100 days and it would be an absolute travesty if we have to return these people to homelessness when we have an opportunity to house people now. And really that's what it took."

Marks said  there were lessons learned from that experience to be used moving forward. But while he said there is shelter capacity for everyone who needs it this winter, he is concerned about the level of need among the current unhoused population. 

"It is going to test our ability to leverage the support services from all of our partners to be able to find housing and keep them housed."