Some new budget shifts on the homelessness front are adding some needed shelter space, but also, some cuts. A city spokesperson told Sudbury.com the shortcomings reveal the need for funding from other levels of government.
Gail Spencer, manager of housing stability and homelessness spoke to Sudbury.com in the wake of Greater Sudbury city council’s first multi-year budget process, approved Dec. 19 with a 5.9-per-cent tax levy increase approved for 2024, and a 7.3-per-cent increase slated for 2025.
What that means for those facing homelessness is a bit more shelter space, more daytime programming, but also, fewer city staff than planned to assist in system navigation.
A renewal of funding is headed to Safe Harbour House, open every night from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. for women and gender diverse people. Operated by the Elizabeth Fry Society of Northeastern Ontario, Spencer said the shelter has been operating at or near capacity since it opened. Safe Harbour House will also use the $720,000 to increase their daytime programming.
“It's a very well-used program, and because our full shelter system is continuing to be nearly at full capacity every night, we knew that we needed to continue to operate this program until we can get more affordable housing in place,” said Spencer.
The current funding agreement was set to end in March 2024.
Funding will also move to the SACY (Sudbury Action Centre for Youth) Nest Shelter, a youth shelter with four beds and 10 warming centre spaces at a cost of $348,000 per year.
Spencer said the SACY shelter also operates at full capacity every night. “And often overcapacity because youth often come and sleep in shelter beds for a while, and then they leave and they're able to clean the beds and have other youth use them again for another part of the night,” she said. “So we're often seeing them over capacity, but just being able to provide those beds to as many users as possible over the evening period.”
These two programs are funded by senior levels of government, whose funding plan extends for the next two years. They will be re-evaluated in 2026, when funding cuts are anticipated to bring them back to pre-pandemic levels.
Salvation Army Cedar Place women and family centre received what Spencer noted was a long overdue raise to their funding envelope, moving from $630,000 to $930,000. It will mean a two-bed increase for the shelter, moving them from 26 beds to 28 beds.
And while this funding is needed now, Spencer said that “there's always a goal that at some point in the future we are able to get enough affordable housing in this system that we could start reducing reliance on emergency shelters.”
Cuts were required, however, and those cuts came to a planned hiring of three more client navigators.
As additional provincial funding through the Homelessness Prevention Fund made its way to the city this year, there was a plan to hire nine new client navigators. Spencer said the additional navigators would have the ability to service community members living in social housing.
The city had hired six of that planned nine, looking to add three more navigators in early 2024.
“We had $300,000 earmarked to support those three positions, but we hadn't used it yet,’ said Spencer. “So when counsel was going through this budget, and they were looking for efficiencies, they decided instead of hiring these other three new client navigators, we would use that $300,000 to offset what the municipality currently puts into funding towards our shelter program.”
The day-to-day for navigators includes outreach, adding names to the by-name list for housing service and helping their clients get formal identification — including paying replacement fees for lost or stolen identification cards — as well as navigating social systems for provincial income supplements, housing supplements and even income tax returns. They also have access to a flex fund to help with quick-access funding.
“For example, a Greyhound bus ticket to get back home to where they have a safe place to live, if they get stuck, or something like that,” said Spencer. The navigators also visit the city-run shelters in the mornings to help any that spent the night there and are what Spencer calls, “a very, very valuable resource.”
Spencer said these cuts were part of “efficiencies” examined in every city service “to help Council meet their goal of a tax increase of less than six per cent.”
When asked if the cuts to funding would impede the city’s ability to serve the vulnerable population, Spencer said the issues are “not necessarily something that municipalities can solve on their own,” and said the issue comes down to a lack of investment in affordable housing from higher levels of government “for many, many, many years.”
“We are supported by our city council, and by the province and the federal government to provide homelessness services, but the real response we need is an investment in affordable housing, in supportive housing, and health care,” said Spencer. “And those are all pieces that are outside of the municipal governments responsibility.”
Sudbury.com also asked about a new motion from council, put forward by Ward 5 Coun. Mike Parent and Ward 4 Coun. Pauline Fortin, directing municipal staff to develop a strategy to end homelessness by 2030. Would there be funding available for any innovations or solutions discovered through this motion?
“That report will be coming to council in April 2024,” said Spencer, noting staff were “examining the current situation in homelessness, the data that we have, the support and resources that we're currently providing, and a strategy where we need to invest in the municipality.”
But also, she said, “Where we need to advocate with the provincial and federal governments to have increased investments to reduce our homelessness situation.”
Any moves from that point will come from council direction, said Spencer.
“It will be up to city council to determine if they have funding available that they would be able to invest in projects.”
Jenny Lamothe covers vulnerable and marginalized communities for Sudbury.com.