New approach to homelessness underway

The United Counties of Leeds and Grenville will dramatically change its approach to homelessness, leaving behind the “hodgepodge” strategy it has used in the past.

Alison Tutak, the director of community and social services for the counties, said this week a new homelessness system for Leeds and Grenville is under development as she explained the approach they’ve taken for years is no longer working.

“Instead of building the system, we have been reactionary,” Tutak said.

She said that in the past, the agency has typically used around 65 per cent of its homelessness prevention funding for programming to manage homelessness, instead of putting the money toward prevention.

“We need to change this,” she said.

“We are looking to come in the fall of 2023 to be bold and strive to ensure that our funds will be focused more on the reduction of homelessness.”

Tutak told the Joint Services Committee this week they’re working on a comprehensive plan to migrate from simply managing homelessness to actually reducing it. That plan, she said, will build the system from the ground up, and will change what programs and services are funded.

“As we look at our funded services, we need to come in line with the evidence – evidence-based strategies to support the goal of reducing homelessness in the next three years.”

The issue of homelessness in Brockville and throughout Leeds and Grenville has always existed, but it has grown exponentially and become more visible in recent years.

According to the byname list, a real-time list of people experiencing homelessness, there are currently 105 people without a home throughout Leeds and Grenville, Tutak confirmed Thursday.

The counties play a big role in helping get those people off the streets, and in the past year, 131 people have been assisted out of homelessness and into long-term housing.

Among those who were placed into housing, however, 34 per cent once again experienced homelessness in less than six months, a challenge they constantly face when attempting to deal with the issue since they lack an official plan, she said.

Their traditional approach to selecting programs and services to address the issue has been done by a request for proposal process, which brings forward “great services and programs” but it’s a “hodgepodge” approach, Tutak said, and hasn’t gotten to the root of the problem.

“I think we need to be bold, and I don’t think we have been bold enough to date as it relates to homelessness,” Tutak said.

“This has been a growing issue for us over time, and it has been growing for us in our community as it has in many communities in Ontario at such a pace it has been hard to very much catch our breath.”

Rideau Lakes Mayor Arie Hoogenboom said hearing the stories of local homelessness makes him feel like they “failed,” but said coming up with a new strategy is a good idea.

“I think there’s always that opportunity to change and improve on what we’ve been doing,” Hoogenboom said.

“I like the idea of bold moves and not throwing a bit of money at every agency out there and hoping they solve the problem.”

Corinna Smith-Gatcke, Mayor of Leeds and the Thousand Islands Township, said the growing homelessness problem was more a reflection of society in general.

“There has been a huge shift in society. Mental health and addictions was in a crisis situation prior to the pandemic. I believe that is a huge lever that has exacerbated that issue, and this is the result of that,” she said.

“I appreciate the work that’s been done in trying to find a way, rather than the hodgepodge that’s been dealt with previously.”

The new plan will come back to the Joint Services committee this fall.

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