'What's at stake here is people's lives': Activists call for better pandemic response in Thunder Bay

While the temperatures may not be in the minus 30s and COVID-19 cases have come down significantly since March in Thunder Bay, the lives of people considered part of the vulnerable population in the city are still at risk.

That's the message from grassroots activist group Not One More Death as they issued a set of recommendations on Friday morning that they say will address the gaps in the northwestern Ontario city's pandemic response.

"We really want to see a pandemic plan that is really considering those [vulnerable] populations and their needs, especially around lack of sheltering options," said Carolyn Whipp, a spokesperson with the activist group.

The "vision for better pandemic response" was released by the group in response to the additional restrictions and enforcement orders put in place by the provincial government as Ontario battles a surging third wave of COVID-19.

Some of those restrictions have since been walked back, including the ability for police to stop people at random to ask why they are not at home, as well as the closure of playgrounds.

Sheltering options, reduced police contact among top priorities

The additional police powers and their implications for people that are homeless and considered vulnerable remain top of mind for Not One More Death.

Whipp wrote in a press release, "houseless people, sex workers, people who use and sell drugs and alcohol-dependent individuals are often put under surveillance, and even more so during lock-down periods when businesses, free public spaces and social services are shuttered."

With the provincial stay-at-home order in effect until May 20, alongside other issues like a lack of affordable housing and limited shelter spaces, Not One More Death made the following recommendations:

• Create a safe sobering site for people who are intoxicated to go to sober up while reducing contact with police and paramedics.
• Address the specific isolation and transportation needs of people who are intoxicated.
• Develop an outdoor hand washing and bathroom facility initiative that "would provide dignity for individuals who have lost access to public washrooms."
• Increase funding for harm-reduction and outreach services that don't involve police responses.
• Legislate mandatory paid sick days.

"People's lives are in the balance in a lot of ways, and these are measures that we can be taking to make sure that people are supported," Whipp said.

Gaps in service grow after ending of emergency measures

A number of emergency programs that supported people that were homeless have recently come to an end, which has re-opened some gaps in services, Whipp said.

One of those programs was the "care bus," a city transit bus with harm reduction workers that provided free transportation throughout the city and essential supplies like food, water, warm clothes and personal protective equipment.

NorWest Community Health Centre chief executive officer Juanita Lawson estimated it helped people nearly 3,000 times between its first day of operation in early March and its last on April 16, when funding ended. 

Matawa First Nation's WiiChiiHehWayWin street outreach initiative was also forced to stop its work when it ran out of funding on March 31.

Program navigator Leesa Davey said the initiative likely saved lives as outreach workers connected people with a warm place to stay and handed out essential items. Davey said the outreach workers helped people 232 times between Feb. 2 and Mar. 31.

Both programs were funded by one-time mental health and addictions funding that flowed through the Thunder Bay District Social Services Administration Board from the provincial government.

Social services board chief administrative officer Bill Bradica said in an emailed statement, "recipients were aware that this was one-time funding, for the period of February 1 through March 31."

NorWest and Matawa have both confirmed they are looking for funding to provide similar outreach programs on a longer-term basis.

In the meantime, "folks are really left with this vast gap and there's nothing there to meet the emerging needs," said Whipp.

Listen Carolyn Whipp's full interview with CBC Superior Morning here: