Several encampments now dot the landscape of Sudbury, at least two in the downtown core.
The Homelessness Network told Sudbury.com they’ve only been able to house two people in the last six months.
And though city council recently approved the beginning of a Roadmap to End homelessness by 2030, a plan to have the number of people who are homeless at what’s called functional zero, the roadmap is a re-investment in social housing, attempting to get as much affordable housing — that is, housing that is no more than 30 per cent of one’s income — in as little time as possible.
But that takes time and the lack of affordable housing is the reason so many are still homeless, said Raymond Landry, manager of the Homelessness Network.
Landry told Sudbury.com despite all their work under their “four pillars of service”, which include community outreach, landlord engagement, housing support and financial aide (under several funding programs to increase affordability and prevent at-risk loss of housing) as well as Housing First case management, the network is still coming up short due to lack of availability.
“Supporting some 50-plus individuals and couples in housing, we have not been able to crack the market on private market rentals due to costs, and we have many on the public housing urgent status waitlist who are stuck waiting for offers of RGI housing,” he said.
But while the City of Greater Sudbury has not formally “sanctioned” encampment and abides by the 2021 Greater Sudbury Encampment Response Guide, created by Iain de Jong, several communities in Ontario have begun to re-examine the way they handle encampments, moving to sanctioned sites and in some cases, tiny homes,
But one region, Kitchener-Waterloo, is influenced by a Superior court ruling.
Last year, the municipality in southern Ontario filed an application with the Superior Court of Justice to evict encampment residents, claiming they were breaking a local bylaw, and court documents show Kitchener-Waterloo officials planned to use the eviction order as a precedent for clearing other local encampments.
In his 51-page decision, Justice M.J. Valente said clearing encampments without sufficient shelter spaces would infringe on the constitutional rights of those living there.
But Valente stated that if shelter capacity increases, his decision could change.
"I declare that the bylaw is inoperative insofar, and only insofar, as it applies to prevent the residents of the encampment from living on and erecting temporary shelters without a permit on the property when the number of homeless persons exceeds the number of available accessible shelter beds in the region," wrote Valente in the decision.
In the last two years, Sudbury’s once 77-bed shelter system has been at or within five beds of capacity every night.
Since the closing of SACY in March, there are four fewer beds, leaving 73.
Sudbury’s co-ordinated access list, otherwise known as the city’s by-name list, is a triaged document of names of those in need of housing, shows as of June 27 there are 279 individuals who are actively homeless, 76 encampments living in encampments and 71 people provisionally housed (housed temporarily with friends or family).
The by-name list began in July 2021, in the wake of the pandemic which worsened an already crisis-level issue.
To date, 931 people have been added to the by-name list. Of the 931 individuals, 364 are housed and 288 have been deactivated from the list due to a change in circumstances.
In a statement to Sudbury.com regarding the presence of sanctioned encampments in the Nickel City, Sacha Novack, city spokesperson, said the city will continue to follow the encampment strategy.
“Providing a safe camping zone for people experiencing homelessness will not resolve encampment issues as there is no legal mechanism to force or require people to use it, and there is no clear exit strategy for a community that takes this route,” she stated.
The city's response, said Novack, involves connecting individuals with resources and housing-focused supports before removing the encampment.
“The aim is not to displace people experiencing homelessness to other locations, but to support them in resolving homelessness.”
But she adds the caveat that the length of time it takes to remove an encampment may be determined by the availability of short-term housing options, such as supportive housing and available shelter space.
“In the meantime, our staff continue to check in on the wellness of individuals and connect them with appropriate services while letting them know that they must move on from the location. In areas where encampments have remained for longer periods of time, social services has provided extra support to keep the area clean.”
Jenny Lamothe covers vulnerable and marginalized communities for Sudbury.com.
