Despite temporary laws prohibiting residential evictions amid the coronavirus pandemic, experts say they do not apply to every situation and that has led to more homelessness.
In addition, agencies in the region are preparing for a large backlog of evictions once they’re allowed by the province.
The issue is present in Durham’s northern communities, where there has been an increase in people turning to social service aids.
“Wherever they were staying, their cousins, their friends, they wanted them out so then we had this population that was hidden, were sheltered, but are now unsheltered,” said Mona Emond, executive director of North House in Uxbridge.
Emond describes these individuals as the hidden homeless. They consist of people who are couch surfing, living in cars or lacking a permanent residence.
She says the pandemic has put agencies like North House in a tough position.
“On an emergency basis, there is nothing here.”
“Even when you think about today, it’s 30-plus degrees outside and the south has lots of cooling centres where people can cool off and get a drink and get out of the heat.”
Despite having a cooling centre in Scugog, Emond says there is a lack of facilities overall in the region’s northern communities compared to the south.
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This week’s heat wave has made it even more dangerous for individuals to live in their vehicles.
“The issue with the heat waves is that the nighttime temperatures are not dropping low enough to give people that reprieve from the heat,” said Wendella Gobin, Durham Health’s senior public health inspector.
As current issues with finding people a safe place to live continue to mount, local organizations are forecasting a dire backlog of individuals who will have no place to go once the province begins to permit evictions.
“We’re just anticipating an increase and we’re also looking at some of our program guidelines to allow those individuals who wouldn’t normally have qualified to be able to qualify,” said Alan Robins, director of Durham’s housing services.
Oshawa city councillor Derek Giberson says the eventual backlog will lead to further housing insecurity.
“Once the evictions are lifted, it’s going to mean people being pushed out and eventually what happens on top of that is that rent goes up.”
The region’s housing services sector will be proposing a report Thursday outlining plans to build an expedited housing development in north Durham.
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