Homelessness ‘hidden’ in Sarnia area before COVID, town hall meeting told

Homelessness hidden in Sarnia area before COVID town hall meeting

Homelessness in the Sarnia area changed during the pandemic.

Homelessness in the Sarnia area changed during the pandemic.

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“We’ve seen an evolution of homelessness,” said Myles Vanni, executive director of Sarnia’s Inn of the Good Shepherd, during a virtual town hall meeting organized Monday by Lambton County and the city.

Before COVID, about 35 people a night used the Inn’s Good Shepherd’s Lodge adult and Haven youth shelters, Vanni said.

But he said staff at the Inn, which has served the homeless and those in need for 40 years, recognized there was “hidden homelessness” locally, with “folks who were couch surfing, staying with family or friends, and really we didn’t see a lot of homelessness on the street.”

“COVID really changed that landscape,” he said. Many informal housing arrangements ended during the pandemic and the need for social distancing to slow the spread of the virus.

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“At the peak of COVID, we had 270 homeless people in our care at the lodge, in hotels and motels, partnering with the county to look after those folks,” Vanni said.

Since the pandemic, local agencies “have really focused on getting people back housed,” he said.

Lambton council backed a motion by Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley in April calling for the town hall as more people are struggling to find affordable places to live and, combined with the impact of mental health and addiction issues, more people are homeless.

Some have been living recently in tents in Sarnia’s Rainbow Park near downtown, similar to encampments in communities across Ontario and Canada.

The virtual meeting also included information from county and city officials dealing with the issue, as well as officials from Bluewater Health and the Canadian Mental Health Association. The hour-long information session was available on the county’s YouTube channel which indicated there were about 150 viewers at the halfway point.

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Vanni said there are still shelter beds available locally, including permanent beds and an overflow facility the county opened during the winter, as “roughly 50 to 60” individuals have been “living rough” recently.

“We’re seeing mental health, and especially addiction” issues have “increased exponentially and that has created behavioral problems,” including “aggression, violence and open drug use at shelters” which limits shelter options for some, he said.

“It is crucial to acknowledge the deeply interconnected nature of mental health, addictions and homelessness,” said Donna Morreau, director of mental health and addiction services for Bluewater Health and the Canadian Mental Health Association of Lambton-Kent.

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“These issues frequently coexist, creating a complex web that significantly hinders individual’s ability to find stability and support,” she said.

Another issue is the lack of affordable housing as rents have doubled in the last six to eight years, “which means we can’t move people from shelter into housing,” Vanni said.

Social assistance rates haven’t changed since 2018 and a single person receives just $390 a month in housing allowance from Ontario Works benefits while typical rent for a local one-bed room apartment is $1,300, said Ian Hanney, program supervisor for homelessness prevention with the county.

Last summer, Lambton County council declared tackling homelessness and the lack of affordable housing its top priorities and Monday’s presentation included information about 700 or more new affordable and supportive housing units the county, and others, are working to develop and open in the community.

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Screenshot from Monday’s homelessness and affordable housing virtual town hall meeting held by Lambton County and the City of Sarnia. Handout

There also have been calls in the community for setting up temporary housing for individuals living outdoors.

“The focus of the housing department has been on permanent housing, with supportive housing as a priority,” said Melissa Johnson, the county’s manager of housing services.

The length of time needed to prepare and get approvals for temporary housing “is the same as permanent housing,” she said. “There would be no significant time saving, which is why our focus is on permanent solutions.”

As well as efforts to create more affordable housing, several speakers talked about outreach teams and programs delivering services to those experiencing homelessness and encouraging them to use local shelters.

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@ObserverPaulM

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