At a community services meeting on Tuesday, Waterloo Region Council approved a two-pronged motion which will direct staff to look for new solutions to the burgeoning homelessness problem in the area.
The first prong of the motion will ask staff develop a master plan to tackle the issue of homelessness in the region.
Commissioner of community services Peter Sweeney presented the motion to council saying the move would allow staff to streamline resources and build upon community engagement work that is already underway.
“To bring back to this council a plan that would at its core and as its goal, seek to end homelessness in this community once and for all,” Sweeney said.
He said that all levels of government need to be involved in a solution but that if the status quo continued, so would the problem.
“This will not be solved overnight. We don’t have a magical site and a big bag of cash that we are just waiting to pull out,” Sweeney told council.
“What I can assure you is, with the current funding allocation and the current mandate, we have a thousand people experiencing homelessness, half of whom are experiencing chronic homelessness, so unless we change something up there, we should expect that to continue.
“So the sooner we both respond in the short term and develop a master plan, the better.“
The second prong attempts to meet the issue in the short term, authorizing staff to prioritize and implement interim housing solutions to support those experiencing homelessness by expanding the transitional housing program, home-based support programs and the emergency shelter program.
It also permits a hybrid option which Sweeney says could include people living in tents, trailers or small structures.
“We haven’t gone to the next level of working up what would work specifically in Waterloo Region,” he explained, while noting that other communities around North America have adopted similar plans.
“We envision a scenario where we would have a community partner willing to staff and provide the services required and the amenities required on the site.”
Sweeney went on to caution that this type of housing should be considered interim, and should not morph into a permanent solution.
The plans still require the approval of a full council meeting with a special meeting being held on Aug. 18 to ratify them.
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