Advocates urging those in Windsor encampment, on streets, to seek shelter as winter nears

As winter approaches and Ontario braces itself for the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, homeless advocates in Windsor are urging those living outdoors on the streets or in tents to access emergency shelters — but fears of the virus have some resisting.

An encampment on private land near the city's riverfront has the Downtown Mission's executive director Ron Dunn especially concerned about the future of those living there as the temperatures start to dip.

"When I go down to the camp, it breaks my heart. There's shelter beds available here and at the other two shelters," he said.

"It's going to get really cold. You need to get out of here." 

The encampment is off the beaten path, in the downtown core near the river, and as of Monday, was home to 14 people, though the numbers have fluctuated since Family Services Windsor-Essex (FSWE) first started tracking it back in January. 

According to the organization, it's the only active encampment site in the city, though others have been tracked throughout the year.

'A feeling of hopelessness'

The site is a community made up of tents, tent-like structures, fire stoves, and personal touches, like oven gloves and Halloween decorations.

But still, there's no running water and no toilet facilities.

"It seems almost like an impossible uphill battle when you're out here because just the basic things you're trying to do, like just to eat, cook, stay clean, those things are very challenging," said one of the encampment residents, who CBC agreed not to name. 

He said he lost his home in early 2018, and has been working with numerous agencies, joined a housing list, but hasn't had any luck finding new accommodations ever since. He said he's been at the encampment, on-and-off, for one or two months now. 

"As far as like getting ahead, without more resources, it's almost like a feeling of hopelessness to be honest with you."

'Hard to make ends meet'

Darryl Fournier has been living at the encampment since the summer, after he became homeless about six months ago. 

"Prices jumped up in rent and it was hard to make ends meet so I thought I'd come down here and regroup and look at it from a different angle and figure it out," he said. 

Dunn goes down to the encampment once in a while to check in, try to urge them to come to the shelter at the Mission, and ask them what they need. 

"Most of the people I've spoken to have said, 'Look, we just want a safe place at the end of the night to kick off our shoes,' and I think it kind of breaks my heart, because I think that's what everybody wants. So housing is the answer. Shelter is a stop-gap measure."

'Added apprehension' around COVID-19

But trying to get folks into permanent housing is difficult when there's an affordable housing shortage. 

"When my outreach workers go out and they talk to people, there is not housing that we can offer them right this very day, so their best option is to move into shelter," explained Joyce Zuk, the executive director of FSWE.

"What we know is going to happen this season is that people are more reluctant to go into a shelter because of COVID, so we are quite concerned about the safety of those individuals who are going to be staying outdoors."

She added that on average it takes about 90 days to find someone a permanent home, but that usually that's a space in a rooming home, shared with a number of other people.

With winter just around the corner, outreach workers with the organization have been paying daily visits to the encampment. 

Colm Holmes, the Windsor-Essex Housing Connections co-ordinator with FSWE, said the outreach team's top priority is ensuring the inhabitants are safe, in the hopes of eventually moving them into permanent housing. And now as the seasons turn, they're also working to make sure folks have a plan in place for the cold. 

"We really don't want people out here in really cold temperatures having the health risks that come with that. But one thing I would say is that, some people are just not going to go to a shelter," he said.

"There is definitely an added apprehension around returning to shelter because you'll be surrounded by people, because of COVID."

He said some feel safer alone in their tents.

If they're not willing to go to a shelter, Holmes says outreach workers are working with individuals to put "safety plans" together for them.

"Help them get a winter coat on their back, thick socks, really talk to them about taking breaks and putting plans together, around going into a space that allows them to get warm, like some community drop ins, like the resources that are available in the city."

Dunn calls for more action

The Mission has 103 beds available, with physical distancing and pandemic measures in place, and yet numbers at the shelter are lower than normal right now, because people are staying outside.

Dunn explained that he's doing his best to make it a welcome space for people to get in from the cold. 

"If we can't provide a safe place, then people will choose to stay outside. That could lead to death related to the elements," he said.

The encampment resident who CBC agreed not to name said he doesn't plan to stay in his tent through the winter, but doesn't know yet what to do next. 

"Ron was saying maybe I'll get into a rooming house or something like that, I'm going to apply for ODSP, so I'm going to have a little bit more money to work with, and that would be able to afford a little bit more. Other than that, I mean, there's not really much options out there."

As for whether he's afraid of COVID-19 in the shelter system, he said, "When you're out on the streets, COVID could be anywhere, and you can't really battle against it."

Dunn wants to see more action to help those living in the encampment. 

"At the end of the day, they deserve better," he said. 

He's calling on the federal and provincial governments to do more to fund the emergency shelter system and provide more affordable housing.

"We need to do more, and we need to do it now," Dunn stressed. 

Province says it's funding support programs

A spokesperson with Ontario's Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing told CBC in an e-mailed statement that it has provided the City of Windsor with "significant homelessness and housing funding both prior to the onset of COVID-19 and as a response to COVID-19."

"In fact, in 2020-21 alone, we are providing the City with over $22.7 million in funding for affordable housing and homelessness support programs."

It added that Windsor is receiving $755,000 for 2020-2021 through the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit, a federal-provincial housing allowance program. 

A spokesperson with Employment and Social Development Canada said in a statement to CBC that the government has invested nearly $400 million in emergency COVID-19 funding through the Reaching Home program to support those at risk or experiencing homelessness. 

They added that the federal government has committed $860,000 in Windsor specifically through to the end of 2023-2024 "to support the community's efforts to prevent and reduce homelessness under the Designated Communities funding stream of Reaching Home."

The Windsor Police Service told CBC in an e-mailed statement, that officers check on the homeless population and encampments as part of regular patrol duties.

"The focus of the response, if there is not a criminal element involved, is to provide support and put the vulnerable homeless population in contact with community partners that are most suited to help their needs," a spokesperson said.

The City of Windsor says that when it comes to addressing the downtown encampment itself, because it's on private land, the City has no role there, unless there are complaints.

As for tackling the issue of homelessness, Jelena Payne, The City's Commissioner of Community Development and Health Services told CBC in a statement that council recently approved the 10-Year Housing and Homelessness Master Plan. 

"The City of Windsor continues to focus on building the community's capacity to better meet the needs of individuals experiencing homelessness, and ensure that the number of individuals experiencing homelessness is reduced," the statement said.