The situation is fluid to the point where an estimate on the number of people living in homeless encampments on public land in Stratford can’t be offered by city officials.
At the September 9 council meeting, a report on the city’s strategy for dealing with public land encampments was received following a brief presentation by Director of Social Services Kim McElroy and members of her department.
John Ritz, the department’s homelessness supervisor, provided the comment about the situation's fluidity and added people find themselves homeless for a number of widely varying reasons.
“Typical circumstances are a result of a relationship breakdown – a partner or parents, or perhaps the loss of a job,” he said. “It could be an eviction as well as a change in circumstance. Many people do not have a history of homelessness or poverty, but have found themselves in this situation because of one of the above reasons.”
Just as the reasons for people winding up in a homelessness situation are varied, so too are the concerns and challenges they face once there. Ritz said these concerns help the city prioritize and triage needs of individuals within the encampments.
“If there are immediate issues such as health care, food or water, we will try to assist with addressing the immediate needs first,” he said. “Outreach workers try to get information for the individuals about their situation and begin to work on getting them on to our local by-name list and complete a housing application.”
Ritz went on to say the next step for outreach workers is to complete check-ins with individuals to ensure they are okay and continue the relationship while the municipality works to find them permanent, stable housing.
The other side of that coin from the community’s point of view is one where being proactive as well as reactive is the ideal solution. Ritz points out that if the city is made aware of encampments or individuals who are sleeping rough, the outreach team can be sent out to make initial contact and figure out what support is needed.
“As calls or concerns are brought forward by the community, we respond to the complaints,” he said. “We also collaborate with concerned citizens to let them know the steps that we are taking, while maintaining the privacy of individuals at the encampments. It’s not a sustainable, long-term solution for municipalities to allow the normalization of encampments. They need to act in the best interests of the homeless and their communities to find other solutions.”
That last part came from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) report on homeless encampments in Ontario as part of the municipal perspective, and Ritz added an example of a recent policy introduced in Stratford.
“It’s the prioritization of individuals experiencing homelessness for our rent geared to income housing, resulting in a one-in-five prioritization for housing if they are experiencing homelessness,” he said. “We must look at ways to make housing more accessible, not add in additional barriers.”
Health conditions tend to be poor for people in encampments, as they don’t have access to either basic necessities like food, water or shelter, nor do they have regular access to needed medical care. It’s something Ritz said the city is working on by piecing together this strategy.
“Many individuals are also dealing with medical issues that have been neglected due to their circumstances, and in response to that we have partnered with the Perth County Paramedics and Community Paramedic program to have an Intensive Outreach Coordinator ride along with community paramedics to attend encampments in hopes of bridging the gap to health care that is often overlooked,” he said. “Mental health is also a key factor. Our staff are often meeting people for the first time when attending a new encampment, and during this initial phase staff must determine if the individual is connected to any supports already. We then have to determine what support would be appropriate when referring to a specialized agency. We have to remind everyone that services for these individuals are voluntary and they don’t have to engage with our outreach team. We’ll keep sending support out to them in the hope they reconsider, as it’s important to build trust and relationships with these individuals to move the plan of housing forward.”
If anyone has identified an encampment on public property, they are encouraged to contact social services to report it by calling 519-271-3773, ext. 200.
