Street Help suggests 'tent city' and 'communal building' for Windsor's homeless

The growing issue of homelessness in Windsor was discussed during a city hall meeting Wednesday — attended by representatives from Street Help, police Chief Al Frederick, and Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens, among others.

The solution, according to Street Help administrator Christine Wilson-Furlonger, is the development of a municipally-owned building which would temporarily house homeless people in the winter.

"Let's get a really big building and let's prepare it for winter. Let's get it clean, turn the heat on, the hydro on. Let's get the homeless indoors for the entire winter," said Wilson-Furlonger. "We could use the additional police officers that are being hired to help to police the program. This would be a city-owned program, not a program of any particular charity." 

Wilson-Furlonger said her husband would like to see a tent city, but some people are critical of that idea. 

Shane Mitchell, with the Olde Walkerville Residents Association, thinks something more "dignified" is in order, and he worries a tent city could "become a slum."

"Obviously it's going to be something that would be upsetting to homeowners or to business owners if that was adjacent to their property. I don't think that that type of development is adequate for the people who need it, and I think we must do much better."

Mitchell said Windsor needs more than a short-term Band-Aid solution that would warehouse homeless people with the bare minimum of support.

He suggests having the design community propose solutions such as the tiny houses that have been built in some American cities.