Homelessness is a complex issue, says city and advocates, after Windsor encampment cleared

The recent cleanup of a small encampment in Sandwich Town is "phase one," according to a Windsor councillor. However, the issue touches on much deeper problems, and can be unsettling for people who live in and near them, advocates say. 

A team consisting of city staff, bylaw enforcement, and social services recently removed a small encampment where at least one person was staying on the city's west side. 

It was brought to their attention when a local resident notified 311, said Ward 2 Coun. Fabio Costante.

Costante said the cleanup does not address the root issues of homelessness, mental health and addiction in the community, especially those that have "skyrocketed" during and after COVID-19. 

"It's a combination of social services, Windsor police, our bylaw team, our parks and rec team …  working together and and doing this in the most humane, sensitive way possible ... while at the same time making sure that the area is clean and and doesn't hopefully attract future encampments." 

Anthony Nelson is a board chair with Street Help in Windsor, an organization that does outreach for citizens living in poverty. 

He said moving people from encampments can cause a lot of distress, especially when police are involved. 

"They're trying their best to say well you know we have our stuff ... We have nowhere to go ... We are homeless," he said. "But you have to remember people have to watch what they're doing because they may be doing things that they shouldn't be doing there." 

"That causes a problem because the city thinks ... if you come here and you're causing a scene, disrupting things, doing drugs around the area, then that is not where you should be and then the police are called."

We are not at capacity, so we would love to see people inside.- Rukshini Ponniah-Goulin, Downtown Mission of Windsor

Rukshini Ponniah-Goulin is the executive director of the Downtown Mission of Windsor — one of the three emergency shelters available in the city.

The Mission is considered to have Windsor's lowest-barrier, meaning it has the fewest rules for access. 

Ponniah-Goulin said clearing encampments is an unfortunate necessity. 

"We would hate to see people living outside, whether it be on the street or in in an encampment, when there are shelters in our city."

"We are not at capacity, so we would love to see people inside."

"Once they're inside in shelter, we can work with them to hopefully find them permanent housing. That's ideally what we all want, right? We want people to be housed. We don't want people to be living in an emergency shelter indefinitely or outside anywhere."

She said there are people who don't use shelters for a variety of reasons: Opposition to the rules the Mission has in place (like no drug use or alcohol on the premises) or because they want to be free to come and go. Others, she said, may not be aware of the services or don't know how to access them. 

When an encampment is removed, Ponniah-Goulin said the individual is brought to a shelter and works with social services. 

Andrew Daher, the city's commissioner of human and health services, said when residents submit a report to 311 a team from his department will respond. 

"One of the things that they will do when the outreach workers go out there is that they will always take an empathetic and compassionate lens in every interaction," Daher said.

"They really try to balance the needs of the individuals while still recognizing that the health and safety of these folks is our number one priority."

For residents who see encampments, Ponniah-Goulin asked for people to be "kind."

"These are human beings and they're there for a reason," she said.

"They're trying to survive however best they can."

"Just be kind and try to encourage individuals to access shelter or talk to an outreach worker."

People who are concerned about a possible encampment in their neighbourhood are asked to contact 311, said Costante. 

Calls are anonymous and help with tracking and data collection, he added. 

"It helps us know where… challenges are in our neighborhoods … it allows us to better understand where these challenges are and so as policy makers and decision makers at council, we can make decisions that's informed by data."