With winter on the way, and judging by the numbers, Sudbury may not have the shelter infrastructure to support those who are currently homeless and seeking overnight respite from the cold weather.
The approximately 77 available shelter beds in Sudbury have been at or near capacity for the past 12 weeks, and with the weather changing, the need to be indoors is paramount, but perhaps unavailable.
So much so that a man was taken to hospital in the early morning hours on Oct. 23 with symptoms of hypothermia and exposure after he fell asleep outside the at-capacity Off The Street shelter at 200 Larch Street.
“We do know that Off the Street Shelter was at capacity that night – we are increasingly at capacity most nights now that the weather is becoming colder,” said Natalie Gauvin, a spokesperson for the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), which runs the shelter (though it is city owned.)
“We are in regular contact with the City of Greater Sudbury and partners to assist with planning for enhanced support as the winter approaches.”
Located at 200 Larch Street, the Off The Street shelter is available for adults of any gender, aged 18 and older and is open seven days a week, from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. The 35-bed space provides a sleeping area, access to washrooms and showers, and housing-focused referral services to individuals who are homeless.
But it has been at or within two beds of capacity every night since late July.
It was an issue at this time last year as well. Sudbury.com wrote of staffing shortages as well as capacity issues in October 2022. You can find that story here.
Currently, the co-ordinated access list is what gives an indication of the homeless population in Sudbury. Also called the ‘By-Name list’, it was first created in July 2021 and mandated as part of the federal directive called Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy.
The document is a comprehensive list of every person in a community experiencing homelessness. The list is also updated in real-time. Using information collected and shared with their consent, each person on the list has a file that includes their name, homeless history, health and housing needs. The urgency of their case is also noted.
This list is rotating, with new people being added, and some re-added (people who have been housed and then evicted and returned to the list). The majority are newly evicted people from Sudbury, said Gail Spencer, city manager of housing and homelessness. Sudbury.com spoke to the city official in May.
“Right now, we have 190 actively homeless individuals on the list, that's a pretty big number that continues to just creep up every month,” said Spencer at the time.
She told Sudbury.com it’s because there just isn’t enough affordable housing. The high cost of living means new evictions, as well as difficulty housing those already on the By-Name List.
Six months later, as of Oct. 26, the number of actively homeless is at 240.
Of the 240 individuals actively homeless, 58 are staying in encampments, 53 are unsheltered, 74 are in shelter, and 55 are provisionally accommodated or “unknown,” which is colloquially referred to as “couch surfing.”
At a city council community and emergency services committee meeting April 17, Tyler Campbell, children and social services director, said that over the past year the Sudbury shelter system has been running close to capacity.
There are other shelter services available in Sudbury, but not always available to all. Number of beds total 42, but some 28 at Cedar Place emergency shelter are referral only.
The Sudbury Action Centre for Youth provides four emergency shelter beds for youth aged- 16-to-24 at 95 Pine St. The Elizabeth Fry Society provides 10 emergency shelter beds for women and gender-diverse individuals aged 19 and over.
To get a true understanding of the number of people who are spending the night on the street, Sudbury.com spent a shift doing night outreach with The Go-Give Project on Oct. 23.
The line up to register for the Off Street Shelter held at least 30 people just after 8 p.m. The 35 beds don’t open for service until 10 p.m.
Over the course of the night, Sudbury.com visited several encampments in the city proper, with approximately 4-6 people at each, with one holding space for 15. There are also outskirt encampments, one of which holds close to 25 people.
Sudbury.com interacted with 91 homeless people after the shelter closed at 10 p.m. One woman was sleeping outside near the spot the man was found with exposure.
Those we met ranged in age from mid-60s to two teens who were under 18. One, age 17, only began using opioids one month previous when he said he aged-out of foster care.
Though Sudbury.com routinely meets with people living on the streets of Sudbury, most of those we saw Oct. 23 were new to us.
City council has given no indication that they will be increasing the shelter system in Sudbury. There are also no plans for a warming centre, other than during extreme cold weather alerts. An Extreme Cold Weather Alert is issued when the temperature is expected to be below -15 degrees Celsius, below -20 degrees with a wind chill, or when Environment Canada issues a storm watch or weather warning.
According to the city’s website, an alert will trigger the Homelessness Network Outreach Team to operate their outreach van overnight. They transport people to safe places such as a shelter (if available) They also provide people who choose to stay outside with extra clothing, blankets and coffee.
The temperature on Oct. 23 was -5 degrees.
Jenny Lamothe covers vulnerable and marginalized communities for Sudbury.com
