City staff have scheduled a virtual public information meeting for Nov. 18 beginning at 6 p.m. Staff will provide a presentation about the Lorraine Street transitional housing project and will be prepared to answer any questions from the public.
Members of the public will be able to register to speak at the meeting. All of the details about registering to speak and where to link to the Zoom meeting are being handed out door to door in the immediate area on Nov. 12.
This meeting is being held in response to a request from local residents after presenting the city with a petition signed by over 350 people, who have serious concerns with the decision made by council on Aug. 17. They feel that the Lorraine Street location is not the proper place for a transitional housing initiative.
Some of their main issues include the absence of community services to supplement the clinical services that will be provided on site; the proximity to a high school; the proximity to a daycare centre; plus the fact that it would not be compatible with the surrounding neighbourhood. They are also upset that there was no public consultation before council made their decision.
Even though I initially supported the recommendation as presented by staff, it bothered me that there was no opportunity for public input prior to the decision. That concern was confirmed the day after the council meeting as I spent hours on the phone with upset constituents.
After further review, I also noted the site was not consistent with what we had approved in the way of a transitional housing initiative as part of the 2021 budget process. At that time, it was my understanding that individuals who are participating in the program would be initially housed in a temporary community housing setting where they will receive intensive support from the dedicated Assertive Community Treatment Team (ACT) that would remain on site.
I further understood the location of the site should be in close proximity to and integrated with other health, social and harm reduction services. This meant the preferred site would most likely be in the downtown area, which is close to the federal, provincial and municipal offices, the methadone clinic, the managed alcohol treatment centre, the proposed temporary supervised consumption site, the Elgin Street Mission, the Samaritan Centre, and many other public and private services that may be necessary for the transitional housing initiative to be successful.
After a period of time receiving the on-site intensive clinical and non-clinical supports, it is hoped the participants will be sufficiently stabilized so that they could transfer to a long-term placement in permanent social housing accommodations and be provided with less intensive on-going supports such as those available through one of the mobile ACT Teams.
Another critical issue facing the City of Greater Sudbury is that we have only identified funding sources to the end of 2021 and have yet to approve the 2022 shortfall for the transitional housing initiative to continue. A new city council will be elected in October 2022 and it will be that council that will be assuming responsibility for any city funding during 2023 and beyond.
Therefore, until permanent funding to pay for the HSN-operated Assertive Community Treatment Team, which is required to provide on-site clinical support for the Transitional Community Housing initiative, it would be more advisable for the city to prepare for the Lorraine Street apartment complex to be used for long-term affordable housing for seniors. There is no point in preparing to use the building for the transitional housing initiative without having a permanent funding source in place.
Therefore, after having time to fully evaluate the situation, I agree with the residents who have expressed their concerns to me. Lorraine Street is not the right location for the transitional housing initiative. People with serious mental health and/or addiction issues should be able to walk to access the type of services that are located downtown, rather than have to take a bus back and forth from any location that is far removed from the downtown core. Participants of the program should also be closer to their community family of homeless friends to whom they have come to count on for social support.
The residents living in the Lorraine Street area agree that council should be facilitating more supportive services for the chronically homeless, but they are strongly recommending that the Lorraine Street site is better suited to long-term permanent affordable housing for seniors since it is a residential neighbourhood and many of the current residents are older adults.
I encourage everyone from the Lorraine Street area to consider making a virtual presentation to staff on Nov. 18 in order to make your views known. If you are not sure how to register, call 311 for more information. Staff will also be taking written questions from viewers during the meeting and responding to those as well.
Robert Kirwan is the Greater Sudbury city councillor for Ward 5.