Ingersoll mayor confident county homeless plan will make a difference

Lee Griffi, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Oxford County Council recently passed a Homelessness Response Strategy called Housing for All. It is described as a multifaceted approach containing several steps, provisions and partnerships with community groups in an effort to greatly reduce homelessness in Oxford by 2033.

“Everyone needs a place to call home. In many communities, including Oxford County, finding appropriate, affordable housing can be a challenge. Buying a home may be out of reach and affordable rental housing can be difficult to find. As a result, some of the most vulnerable members of our community face housing insecurity,” said the report's introduction.

Ingersoll Mayor Brian Petrie said it’s about keeping people in their homes and transitioning people out of temporary housing into their own homes with the care they need.

“The strategy is an outline of where we want to go and staff are going to be working on bringing forward the items and programs to make it happen. Having the HART being awarded is a great thing to help this along and we are working on fixing the 24-hour emergency shelter system to make sure it's providing the services we need.”

He added the entire basis of the plan was to see what programs and services were available, what works, what doesn’t and who does what. It also spells out the role of the county and what help is needed from other levels of government and organizations.

“I’ll give you a great example. The government of Ontario provided funding through its Homeless Prevention Program. Oxford County was able to put out an RFP for transitional housing here in Ingersoll. The United Way came to the table and the community gathered with them and we were able to get the project completed and I believe people are moving in very shortly.”

Petrie said another goal is to not waste taxpayer dollars and organization’s time on efforts that aren’t going to see tangible results. When asked what he would say to the skeptics who might feel it is just another plan that won’t accomplish anything, he stated the county won’t be effective without it.

“Having that strategy and being able to focus everybody on that is a huge step forward. Is it going to solve homelessness 100 per cent? No. We need partners to come to the table, and we need funding, but this will guide us where we need to go to be effective and it will make a difference in people’s lives,” he explained. “It is certainly going to be way more effective than not having a plan.”

The plan includes the five main pillars of reducing homelessness through prevention, support housing stability through collaboration, maintain and improve the existing housing portfolio, increase affordable and rental options and advocate for increased investment.

Housing for All was passed unanimously and Petrie admitted council members were feeling the stress of the situation as much as those in the community.

“We are talking about people’s lives here. They need to be given the right to supports and pathways forward to better lives. This is what staff did extensive research into and everybody felt this was something we could get behind.”

The plan will be fluid, meaning it can be tweaked over its lifespan based on what’s working what isn’t.

“I think that’s a really big part of this. It isn’t to say do a, b, c and d and we’re done. It’s this is what we have as far as resources now. This is where we need to build those resources and these are the problems we need to work on.”

The plan includes $500,000 for a homelessness prevention program along with 10 new transitional and 10 supportive housing beds at the new HART Hub in downtown Woodstock, although there is no word when that will open. It will also create an ad hoc committee to provide feedback on possible locations for a homelessness support centre.

166 people were known to be experiencing active homelessness in the county in January of this year. 66 per cent had a diagnosed mental illness and 69 per cent were going through substance abuse. Nine per cent were identified as experiencing domestic violence, 11 per cent were Indigenous and eight per cent were young people.