A virtual town hall meeting is being organized by Lambton County and Sarnia to update residents on efforts to address homelessness and a shortage of affordable housing.
Advertisement 2
Article content
A panel of county and city officials is scheduled to provide updates and answer questions during the meeting set to run from 10 am to 11 am June 3 on the county’s YouTube channel.
Article content
Community members can submit questions until May 29 online at lambtononline.ca/townhall.
Officials expected to be on the panel include Sarnia Police Chief Derek Davis, Medical Officer of Health Dr. Karalyn Dueck, Inn of the Good Shepherd executive director Myles Vanni, Donna Morreau, integrated director of mental health and addictions services for Bluewater Health and the Canadian Mental Health Association Lambton-Kent, as well as several senior managers with the city and county.
“Panel participants will share updates from their organizations on the programs, services, partnerships, and collaborations currently underway in our community, and to help provide a better understanding of the complex issues surrounding housing and homelessness,” the county said in a news release.
Advertisement 3
Article content
Lambton County council backed a motion by Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley in April calling for the town hall meeting, based on similar events held locally during COVID pandemic restrictions.
“There’s no other forum right now” where residents can hear “from people on the frontlines, and hear all of the complexity of this issue,” Bradley said.
A growing number of individuals are struggling to find affordable places to live and, combined with the impact of mental health and addiction issues, there has been an increase in the number of individuals experiencing homelessness.
Several individuals have been living recently in tents in Sarnia’s Rainbow Park near downtown, similar to encampments in communities across Ontario and Canada.
Advertisement 4
Article content
“These camps are in every community” and “the courts have been very clear, up to now, not granting injunctions” to remove homeless encampments, Bradley said.
The town hall session “is a chance to get information out into the community,” he said.
“I’m hoping we can do this on a regular basis.”
County council declared last summer its top priorities are responding to homelessness and a shortage of affordable housing.
The county and local groups and individuals have been working to see more affordable and supportive housing created in the community, and to provide additional help for those experiencing homelessness.
Bradley said, “There’s a lot of goodwill out there from people saying, ‘ok, it’s happening everywhere, what can we do?’
Earlier this month, Sarnia council paused an earlier decision to move to dismantle the encampment in Rainbow Park and called for a protocol on encampments to be created by a community safety and well-being leadership group with representatives from the city and other agencies.
“They’ve been mandated by council to come back with clear, strong recommendations. . . and hopefully as quickly as possible,” Bradley said.
Article content