There is no shortage of services and organizations in Greater Sudbury that are in place to assist the city's most vulnerable citizens.
Members of more than 20 different organizations attended a more than three hour special meeting of city council on Jan. 27 to discuss an issue that Greater Sudbury mayor Brian Bigger called a crisis.
Homelessness is not a new issue in Greater Sudbury, but it is one that has come to the forefront during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The mayor opened the public input session, noting what work has been ongoing to assist the city's homeless population while acknowledging there there is still a long way to go.
"There is a crisis right now in our city and this has been highlighted and amplified by COVID-19," said Bigger. "To address our homelessness challenges we must take a collaborative approach as no one agency can address these challenges alone. We need everyone to play a part."
Those words from the mayor rang true in the presentations and comments that were made over the course of the evening, as many different speakers noted a lack of collaboration among different agencies and a sense of confusion among the city's homeless population who oftentimes do not know where to turn for the services they require.
Louise Jacko, a homelessness support program worker with the N'Swakamok Native Friendship Centre was the first to speak on the evening, pointing to the confusion that comes with accessing services being provided in the city.
"We find that individuals are treated with dignity and respect within the shelter system but some issues need to be addressed," said Jacko. "There's a lack of consistency with the locations and opening hours of warming centres; this causes confusion and exposes individuals to the cold and wet elements."
Those who presented on Wednesday evening were each given five minutes to shed light on what they see as issues, while offering possible solutions to the city's homelessness crisis.
Speakers raised concerns over systemic racism, classism, lack of supports for those with criminal records and a lack of affordable housing in the city.
Denis Constantineau, CEO of the Centre du Santé communautaire du Grand Sudbury highlighted the stark reality of housing in the city.
"Our mandate as a network lies in housing, we're not mental health or addiction experts although these realities are part of our daily work and impact our clients in a significant way," said Constantineau, delving into the weekly housing list compiled by the Homelessness Network.
"On March 20, 2019, less than two years ago, that list contained 50 units available for rent with 10 units under $700 a month. This morning the list contained five units with only one unit under $700. Bear in mind that a person on Ontario Works receives $735 a month, that's our housing crisis."
Aaron St. Pierre of the Native People of Sudbury Development Corporation provided a very straightforward look at the demographics of homelessness in Greater Sudbury, and how the issue of homelessness is far more prevalent among Indigenous people.
St. Pierre's presentation drew from 2018 data that indicated Indigenous people make up 9.4 per cent of the total population of the city of Greater Sudbury, but comprise 42.5 per cent of the homeless population.
"If we're going to have these discussions about homelessness in our city, to ignore this aspect and to gloss over it would be doing this discussion a disservice and an injustice," said St. Pierre.
Council heard from a literacy and basic skills instructor from the Sudbury District Jail on Wednesday night, as Melanie Joncas spoke about the struggle that people being released from the prison system have with getting back on their feet and often wind up being cycled back through the system over and over.
"The lack of support for people with criminal records in terms of housing and programming to assist with a healthy reintegration into society results in a large number of people being released into the exact same situation they were in when they were arrested, which is often homelessness and strong addiction issues," said Joncas. "If they're homeless they're going right back to that and that's ineffective."
The YMCA has stood close by the city in providing shelter and warming stations for the homeless population throughout the course of the pandemic and have been gathering feedback from those who they're serving.
Kendra MacIsaac of the YMCA shared some of that feedback with council and those in attendance on Wednesday evening.
"There's sometimes confusion over the service network; those accessing services aren't aware of the ever-changing fabric of the services being provided, causing frustration and tension," said MacIsaac.
"There is a perceived lack of coordination and consistent delivery of service. So many organizations and groups want and are trying to help, but is it the right help? Are good intentions undermining other efforts? Are low-barrier supports preventing folks from seeking supports that might better equip them to access housing? With multiple groups providing support, clients can get confused about where they should go from one day to the next."
While the need for a collaborative effort was made abundantly clear, organizations such as the Sudbury Action Centre for Youth (SACY), made it known that different services are required for different demographics, specifically for youth experiencing homelessness.
"On behalf of the Sudbury Action Centre for Youth, we request that homelessyouth be addressed as distinct from the rest of the homeless population," said Julie Gorman of SACY. "That youth homeless services are bolstered in our community and that we're able to see youth move out of homelessness more quickly and with appropriately dedicated support."
Council heard from representatives from the Children's Aid Society of Sudbury and Manitoulin, Public Health Sudbury and Districts, Health Sciences North, Black Lives Matter Sudbury, Sudbury Temporary Overdoes Prevention Sites (STOPS) and more on the evening.
On Thursday, Jan. 28, councillors will hear from members of the community who have lived experiences with homelessness. That meeting will begin at 4 p.m.
You can watch Wednesday's meeting here, and Sudbury.com will carry the livestream of Thursday's meeting.
