Individuals sleeping below plastic sheets subsequent to a trash can exterior a Milton public library, together with comparable encampments throughout Halton, are a stark reminder of the rising homelessness disaster within the area.
In response, Halton regional council unanimously handed a movement at its Wednesday (Jan. 22) assembly urging the federal and provincial governments to take vital, long-term motion.
The human affect was underscored by Milton councillor Colin Greatest, who shared the photograph despatched by a involved resident of a person sheltering exterior the native library and artwork centre.
“This is one of three people that are basically living in our library throughout the day,” Greatest stated, including that social companies outreach employees have made a number of makes an attempt to offer help.
The numbers illustrate the gravity of the scenario.
In 2023, Ontario noticed 3,432 drug-related deaths and over 1,400 homeless encampments throughout its communities. A current report from the Affiliation of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), in partnership with the Ontario Municipal Social Companies Affiliation (OMSSA) and the Northern Ontario Service Deliverers Affiliation (NOSDA), revealed that greater than 80,000 Ontarians have been homeless in 2024 — a 25 per cent improve since 2022.
Greatest pointed to the broader problem, citing findings from northern Ontario exhibiting that care centres for folks experiencing homelessness lowered policing and emergency companies prices. He stated investments in housing and help companies are usually not simply humane however cost-effective in the long run.
“We have to fix this,” Greatest stated.
Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward shared a equally urgent viewpoint, recounting a fireplace at a neighborhood encampment brought on by propane tanks used for heating. “It was very fortunate that nobody was harmed… but it shouldn’t take a life-threatening event to find suitable accommodation for folks,” she stated.
“These encampments are dangerous for the people living there,” Meed Ward added, noting that libraries and neighborhood centres have more and more grow to be makeshift shelters.
In 2024, Halton invested $69 million in housing and homelessness packages, with 63 per cent funded by municipal taxpayers. Throughout Ontario, municipal spending on these packages exceeded $2.1 billion.
Regardless of these efforts, further help is essential. The identical AMO report requires $11 billion over 10 years to finish persistent homelessness and $2 billion over eight years to accommodate all encampment residents.
Each the federal and provincial governments have introduced funding, however they fall wanting what’s wanted.
The federal authorities dedicated $250 million for encampments and unsheltered homelessness, with plans for a cost-sharing settlement with provincial governments. Nevertheless, progress on a proper cost-shared settlement has been sluggish.
The federal authorities has pledged to work instantly with municipalities, however with out provincial involvement, solely half of the accessible funding will attain native governments.
Ontario, for its half, introduced $75.5 million in December 2024 to assist municipalities present long-term housing and short-term lodging for these in encampments. Whereas appreciated, Meed Ward described the funding as “woefully inadequate.”
“This motion asks for continued pressure on the province to come to terms with the federal government for shared funding,” Meed Ward stated. “We need to continue to make appropriate funding for mental health, homelessness and addictions.”
The movement’s requires motion embrace enhancing reasonably priced housing, increasing psychological well being and dependancy companies and enhancing earnings help. These measures goal not solely to deal with homelessness but additionally strengthen the financial and social well-being of communities.
