Housing cost key factor in Windsor’s homelessness, say stakeholders

More often than not, it is said that people shy away from the truth which to a great extent has become their reality. It becomes easier to be in denial when you become vulnerable to something out of your control.

Realizing that being on the street without a place to go to after a day is over isn’t the only form of homelessness, being under housed or hidden homeless is also another.

According to Lady Laforet, executive director of the Welcome Centre for Women and Families, there are more homeless people than we know.

“Getting people out of homelessness and into housing, not just off the streets because homelessness includes many individuals and families who are hidden homeless, or under housed,” said Laforet

Laforet pointed out that it is more important to recognize it and do something about it.

“We need to be able to provide services that are all housing focused and about ending homelessness, not just reacting to it and treating the symptoms,” said Laforet.

She noted that food programs, sleeping bags are all great for meeting an immediate and charitable need but is not enough to end homelessness.

“The causes of homelessness are not linear, and it shows that there is a relationship between factors; structural, systems and individual circumstance,” said Laforet.

A lot of homelessness has been attributed to housing prices, but Kieren McKenzie, Windsor city counsellor for Ward 9, however, thinks that it does not have a direct cause and effect to whether or not homelessness will be seen on an increased level.

Laforet believes there is a way to end homelessness. “There is a cure for homelessness, and it is housing,” she said.

“It’s the availability of affordable housing is first and foremost amongst the issues that would lead to people experiencing homelessness,” said McKenzie  “and I think chief among them is the supports that people who need mental health services particularly for addiction, and those services unfortunately are woefully lacking in our community,”

McKenzie gave his opinion based on the City of Windsor’s perspective to increase affordable housing.

“We have a homelessness master plan that was recently passed by the City of Windsor that essentially identified that there is a crisis, and what we need to do to mitigate that crisis,” said McKenzie.

He said in the last 20 years, the City of Windsor had one project entirely funded through public dollars which is the Meadowbrook project and that is not going to get the city to where it needs, hence the need for greater engagement by the private sector.

To build affordable housing “we need to develop greater incentives for those things to move forward. So, certainly, the public sector has to be a partner with the private sector to build some of those units,” said Mckenzie.

Having addictions and mental health issues as some of the root causes of homelessness, personal impact is also the right thing to do and housing plays its role.

He further emphasized that the council has some targeted regional investment plans to spur investments at the private level, which are incentive programs, for affordable housing and expanding those programs to the entire community.

“Housing is one of the key factors in terms of being able to bring that person back into a healthier lifestyle and giving them the opportunity to be able to access essential services, other things can start to occur,” he said.

The city is increasingly becoming aware of mental health which means one of the biggest expenses, budget line item that the city has is for social services.

“I think it’s not fair to say we are not doing anything, what we really haven’t done a good job is wrapping our minds around the types of programs that need to newly address the issues as they are right now,” said McKenzie.

He said in the last budget, the city approved to partner with several different agencies who are delivering social services to the community.

“The city hall has partnered with many service providers operating in the mental health space to help people with mental health, homelessness and addiction,” McKenzie said.