Federal government commits $5M in funding for homelessness relief in London

Much needed funding to help address the homelessness crisis in London, Ont., was announced by the federal government on Friday, committing $5 million over two years.

The money can be used by the city to assist communities in responding to the crisis of encampments, said London MP Peter Fragiskatos, and it's up to city council to decide where this money will be used.

"Obviously, with the challenges on our streets, we see an unacceptable situation, particularly in terms of encampments," said Fragiskatos.

"We have a a general principle that must be followed which is that the funding has to be used to get people out of camps and into shelter and ultimately ideally into homes."

The use of funds is flexible and can be used to build new or supportive housing, add existing shelter space or cover shelter space construction and renovation costs, help people find existing housing, provide short-term rent support, or get people access to treatment. 

"We know that many of those unfortunately, who are living in camps right now are struggling with addiction, particularly drug addiction and so treatment options, so it's something that should of course be explored and the funding can go toward that," he said.

London mayor Josh Morgan had been calling on the federal government to make available some of the $250 million available that the Liberals set aside for homelessness in their spring budget, to help end encampments and transition people into stable housing.

The $5 million allotment is based on population across the country, so London is getting roughly the same as Kitchener-Waterloo and Hamilton, Fragiskatos said. 

Province not matching federal funds for homeless supports

According to Fragiskatos, the province will not be matching his request to match the federal funds for homeless support. He said so far across the country, Ontario and Saskatchewan are the only two provinces to not match the funding. 

The provincial government said it already gave the City of London $21 million this year to spend on homelessness prevention, an increase of 40 per cent from past years.  

The City of London and the federal government are working out a few details before the money can be released, Fragiskatos said. The agreements have not been formalized as of Friday, but are "very close."

He said while the investment is significant, it is a short-term solution. 

"We can't count on this only to solve the encampment problem and folks in our community have a rightful expectation that we do solve it."

He said encampments pose a public safety issue. "This should not be happening and we're committed to reversing this and stopping it. So this is the first step."

Sarah Campbell, the head of Ark Aid Mission, said the funding is a significant step forward in providing much-needed assistance to those living outdoors and creating indoor spaces for the most vulnerable. However, more support is still needed, she said.  

"We are incredibly grateful to the federal government for stepping up with a funding plan that includes critical support for the City of London's encampment strategy and Reaching Home initiatives," said Campbell.

"This gives council every opportunity to fund the Ark Aid business case for two years, even if services need to be scaled within a balance of indoor and encampment basic needs efforts. However, this is just the beginning. The funding, while impactful, falls short of meeting the full scope of the need in our community."