The Rainbow Park encampment has become a lightning rod for conflicting perspectives on homelessness and community safety, but Sarnia-Lambton is by no means alone in facing these challenges.
In a new paper on homeless encampments published in July, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) summed up the tensions felt in many towns and cities across the province. “Municipalities are often caught balancing the important needs of unsheltered people living in encampments, who deserve to be treated with empathy and respect,” AMO said, “and a responsibility to ensure our communities are safe and vibrant places for all residents.”
Hot on the heels of the Sarnia City Council’s latest decisions on homeless encampments, this reflects the perspectives of several experts and officials calling for deeper understanding of the root causes and multi-level collaboration to address them.
“Homelessness has reached disastrous proportions in Ontario, with devastating impacts on people, communities, and businesses across the province,” AMO’s Director of Policy, Lindsay Jones said.
“Encampments are the latest expression of a homelessness crisis decades in the making. [They] are a tragic result of cracks in the foundations of our housing, health, and social systems and are a public policy failure by successive provincial and federal governments.”
From Jones’ perspective, insufficient intergovernmental cooperation and insufficient availability of affordable housing have compounded these issues. Furthermore, the tone of public discussion on homelessness and the closely linked opioid crisis is increasingly divisive and politicized, which distracts from much needed action.
“[Homelessness] is a social, economic, and health crisis felt most by municipalities, but the solutions require collaboration and leadership from all levels of government,” Jones said. “Governments must be committed to working together to solve these issues collaboratively, including by investing in addressing the root causes.”
In 2019, the Government of Canada identified Lambton County as one of just six “designated communities” across the country, as part of efforts to realize the national strategies on homelessness and on housing. Key goals of the national strategies include supporting the most vulnerable Canadians to maintain safe, stable, and affordable housing and reducing chronic homelessness nationally by 50 per cent by the 2027–2028 fiscal year.
Locally, the County of Lambton is responsible for leading programs aimed at preventing and reducing homelessness in Sarnia-Lambton.
Since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lambton County has housed more than 700 unique individuals experiencing homelessness. Through various local programs, the County has also prevented “several times more” instances of homelessness, according to Ian Hanney, Program Supervisor for Homelessness Prevention and Social Planning in the County’s Social Services.
On July 8, the Sarnia City Council considered a draft “encampment response” for new encampments. In the document, the Council acknowledged that addressing homelessness, including encampments, is a “very complex issue” and requires the involvement of all levels of government as well as community organizations and other partners.
As reported by the Sarnia Journal, the City Council voted on Monday August 12 to adopt the protocol, with an amendment that means it will also apply to Rainbow Park.
Lambton County is in the early stages of a partnership with Indwell, a Christian charity based in Hamilton. Indwell provides affordable housing and so-called “wraparound support”, including for nursing, mental health and addiction, and food security.
Indwell looks for four key elements – government, municipal staff, health care, and community – to determine if an area is ready for supportive housing.
“Remarkably, each of these are in place, or being worked on, in Sarnia-Lambton,” Natasha Thuemler, Indwell’s Regional Director for Southwest Ontario, said. “Sarnia-Lambton is seeking to address homelessness by addressing a missing piece: more permanent supportive and affordable housing.”
At least one other element is required: a healthy dose of humanity.
Sarnia City Councillor Adam Kilner has seen many people working together over several years to help address the interconnected issues of mental health, addiction, and homelessness in Sarnia-Lambton.
“Empathy and compassion are a huge part of addressing the future,” Kilner said in a previous interview. “We will not successfully address challenges by making anyone small. We will overcome by working together.”
Sarnia-Lambton residents, including those with lived experience with these issues, will soon have an opportunity to shape the next iteration of the County’s Housing and Homelessness Plan. Hanney confirmed that between 2024-2025, the County will undertake a needs assessment and broad consultations to update the goals and guidance for local agencies.
In addition, the County plans to share more information with the public to help demystify and humanize homelessness, promote the effective and collaborative work already underway, and identify clear avenues for community members to be part of the solution.
At the provincial level, housing and homelessness are “top-of-mind priorities” for the Association of Municipalities of Ontario. These issues, along with the opioid crisis, will feature strongly in a conference the Association is hosting in Ottawa from August 18-21.
The conference will provide an opportunity for municipal officials across Ontario to share experiences and learn from case studies and innovative approaches to addressing these complex issues.
At the time of reporting, three representatives of the County of Lambton – the Warden, Chief Administrative Officer, and General Manager of Social Services – plan to participate in the conference in Ottawa.