Public meeting on zone change turns to debate on homelessness, youth mental health

A protest outside of Stratford City Hall on July 13, prior to a council meeting in which many members of the public carried these sentiments into a public debate on homelessness and mental health.

By: CONNOR LUCZKA, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

On July 13, at 6:30 p.m. in Market Square, protesters gathered by a tent covered in signs reading “THIS IS NOT SHELTER.” As a collective, they were doggedly asking for Stratford city council to do more for the city’s unhoused.

“I've been having issues with my housing,” said youth protester Melanie Woods, holding a sign that demanded safe, affordable, dignified lodging. “It's been really difficult for me. You know, not having proper housing has been pretty terrible for me. It's done terrible things to my life, and I'm just angry about a lot of it.

“There's nothing I can do that's going to take back anything that's happened to me, but I think there are solutions that can make sure it doesn't have to happen to anyone else. So that's what I'm fighting for. That's what I that's what I want. I want no one to have to go through what I did. And unfortunately, there are people going through it right now, but they don't have to.”

The sentiments of the protest were carried over into a public meeting just an hour later.

The meeting was for a potential rezoning of the former St. Stephens Anglican Church located at 133 Home St. RGA & The Space Within, a local mental health and complementary health service currently at 153 and 157 Huron St. and 35 Market Pl., mean to use the church structure as a new clinic for counselling and small group counselling workshops. It is requesting council to permit only 12 parking spaces (rather than the required 17) and to allow a clinic and auditorium as additional permitted uses – although no member of the public spoke about those specific asks.

Instead, members of the public wanted more affordable housing, with many believing the space would be better suited as such.

“I think playing on the heartstrings about mental health issues and health care and everything else, frankly, is a little bit disingenuous because our health care has suffered traumatically,” Ken Wood said. “… What you're considering, and let’s really put the cards on the table, is having a for-profit counselling service, basically taking a church in a neighbourhood area that would be ideal for housing.

“What kind of city do you want to build? Do you want to have a city where you've got residents that can live in this city? We need a whole transitional set of housing options. We need rooming houses. We need transitional housing. We need tiny homes.”

“The second main cause of death in our youth is mental health,” Tanner Bergsma said. “Yet the first barrier to accessing supports is financial. We can't afford it. A lot of our residents in our city who are youth cannot afford to live. This is a crippling thing that we see across Canada. Yet, what are we doing about it? …  I urge you to listen to your residents. You keep ignoring them. They keep telling you the same things. Yet, which do we prioritize, profit or other people?

“… They're asking for housing. They're asking for it to be used for housing. And if you put it through, what is your plan to get this housing under control? Because it will become a litigation issue on a national and international level if it's not managed, I promise you that. We, the youth, will not put up with this.”

After the public had a chance to provide comment, Morgan Kneider Patterson, on behalf of the Space Within and as a former teacher of some of those that spoke that evening, first congratulated many of the young people for expressing their opinion. She explained the reason the Space Within team sought this location was it is fully barrier-free and accessible and nearby residential homes and government housing sites – meaning neighbours could walk to get support. The Space Within also provides pro bono work in an attempt to keep the barrier to access low.

“I understand that this is a really hot topic, one that I also am passionate about and am actively involved in, both on a personal level and helping other organizations in the community make sure that we're helping our unhoused,” Patterson said. “And so I see both points here and acknowledge that we have a big issue in Stratford that seems to be getting bigger, and our intention by taking this is not to displace unhoused people. We're very compassionate and looking to help with that scenario.

“… It’s not perfect, and we never will get to perfect unless we can get all our heads together and think outside the box.”

No decision on the zone change was made at the meeting, nor did council members debate or give opinion on the matter. It will come back for council approval at a later date.