London, Ont. golf courses to play a part in city’s $1.9M winter response to homelessness

Correction: While the city reported in the initial plan released on Oct. 27 that the location would be at the Centre Branch YMCA, it has since said that location was reported in error and that a specific location has yet to be finalized.

The City of London is looking at using under-used spaces in this year’s Winter Response Program to address the issue of homelessness in the colder months.

Civic administration is proposing a three-part approach for the 2021 to 2022 response, which would be a mix of short-term drop-in spaces for up to eight hours, stabilization spaces allowing for a stay of one to three days, and long-term winter shelter options allowing for stays up to four months.

City staff say this three-pronged approach will allow for a more tailored services for Londoners in vulnerable situations around homelessness and make use of temporarily under-used city assets.

This year’s plan call for discreet winter shelters set up at the city’s River Road and Fanshawe golf courses, in addition to the ongoing use of hotel rooms being used for the city’s pandemic response.

The Fanshawe Golf Course is expected to run until Mar. 1, 2022, with the rest of the city’s winter repose programs expected to last until the end of March 2022.

“The resounding feedback was, ‘I want a space where I can feel like I can stay, where I’m not in the watchful eye of the public all the time, and I can grow a sense of community with the people that are living there with me and the staff that are providing supports,’ and we think this has the ability to achieve that,” said Kevin Dickins, managing director of housing, social services and Dearness Home.

“We feel that these locations, although remote, will not lack services. Services will be available on-site or to come on-site, transportation will be available back into the core of the community, but we also know that the core is a hot spot right now and that people are not necessarily getting services in the core.”

The site at River Road will be run at Atlohsa Family Healing Services and will be for those who identify as Indigenous, with a focus on reconnecting with the land, their culture and home.

“We’re really excited about this. We think having an Indigenous-led response is the right thing to do and is something we did not have last year,” Dickins said.

All of the spaces at the long-term shelter will be assigned with the help of other agencies to those who they think they would best help, but all are open to people of all genders and sexual orientations.

This year’s plan will have a stabilization space set up in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), Thames Valley Addiction and Mental Health Services at the CMHA’s Hamilton Road location.

The site will allow for those in need to stay for one to three days, with five to 10 beds to support unsheltered individuals in crisis.

The City along with Ark Aid Street Mission staff and volunteers will offer a drop-in space for people to get out of the cold for up to eight hours at a time with overnight resting spaces and coffee and snacks during the day.

This setup will be able to accommodate 48 people during the day and 40 people overnight.

The drop-in spaces will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m and 8 p.m. to 8 a.m to allow for breaks to clean and to turn over beds.

Dickins said an estimated 78 to 120 people are experiencing unsheltered homelessness in London, with the two shelters at golf courses set to house between 60 and 70 people and overnight drop-in services up to 40 people.

Dickins noted the number of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness usually goes down in winter because of people being able to find places to stay, so they should have enough space for everyone who needs it.

The total cost of the winter response is estimated to cost $1.9 million, with all of the costs coming from a combination of the Federal Reaching Home Program and the Provincial Social Services Relief Funding.

No municipal tax dollars are expected to be spent on the proposed program.

The programs will be led by a number of community organizations, including Arcade Mission, CMHA, Atlohsa, Impact London and several others, to co-ordinate services, transportation and meals where needed.

The community and protective services committee is expected to discuss the plan at its next meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 2, with council set to discuss and possibly approve the plan on Nov. 16.

If approved, services will be set up and are expected to be fully operational by Dec. 1.