City politicians have approved the first three locations for London’s homeless hubs plan.
The approval, which came by way of a 9-6 vote, followed a contentious nearly five-hour debate on Monday during the strategic priorities and policy committee (SPPC) meeting.
Councillors debated into the evening as members received more than 200 letters from the community, many of which expressed concerns over the proposed locations for the hubs.
In a report released last week, city staff recommended council approve two-year contracts for opening the first three hubs in order to deliver services at five proposed locations.
Ultimately, councillors gave the green light to proposals from the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Thames Valley, Atlohsa Family Healing Services and Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU).
The first hub approved will now go at 550 Wellington Rd., near Parkwood Hospital. The hub, managed by Atlosa, will have 18 transitional beds and 10 respite beds, with a total annual operating cost of $2,118,146.
YOU’s hub is set to be located at Victoria Hospital. Renovations at the hospital won’t be finished until May 2024, so six more resting spaces would be added to YOU’s existing youth shelter by December. Operating costs for YOU’s hubs are estimated at $1,317,500 for the first year.
Lastly, CMHA’s 10 respite beds will be located at 556 Dundas St., across from London Police Headquarters, and another 20 transitional beds at the Lighthouse Inn at 704 Fanshawe Park Rd. W.
In total, the hub at the YOU location on Richmond St., the hub operated by Atlhosa on the campus of Parkwood Hospital, and the CMHA hub located on Dundas St. are scheduled to open this December.
The Lighthouse Inn location and the YOU hub on the Victoria Campus at LHSC are slated to open in May 2024.
But Coun. Corrine Rahman recounted a previous promise made by council to have 90 to 150 beds by the end of the year.
“This proposal is not that. It is 44 beds,” she said.
The Ward 7 councillor also said some of her constituents first learned about the proposed locations last week, saying they didn’t have enough time to process the information.
“I’m asking for us to take some time to allow people to receive what’s in front of them today,” she said. “I want to give the public and those business around the location the opportunity to have that dialogue with us.”
She added that in the first few days since the Lighthouse Inn hub was proposed, she received around 575 emails from neighbours expressing their concerns.
During the meeting, Mayor Josh Morgan addressed concerns raised about the most contentious hub location on Fanshawe Park Road.
“There are 20 women, and in some cases some children, who are potentially coming to that part of the city pending the zoning, which is a whole process we have to go through. And we can make all sorts of assumptions about what those people are and what they might do, and their backgrounds, or we can be one of the most compassionate parts of the city and say, there are people in desperate need who are coming to this corner of the city so how can we help,” he said.
During the SPPC meeting, Rahman put forward a motion to refer the decision about locations and operating agencies to Oct. 31.
But the motion was turned down as other councillors worried the referral would push back the opening of the first hubs in December.
The three hub locations will hold a focus on youth, Indigenous people and women, providing 73 beds by mid-2024, according to city staff.
The cost for these hubs will range around $5 million and, if given final approval by council, the three organizations will be granted $15 million to run the hubs over a two-year period.
“The funding is coming from Fund for Change,” Ward 11 Coun. Skylar Franke said. “Very little will be coming from taxpayers and even that is coming from reserves so again we’re able to try out this methodology without having to increase property taxes.”
However, in echoing some concerns presented by residents, several councillors also criticized the cost of the first three hubs, highlighting the high prices compared with the number of available beds.
“It isn’t enough,” stated Ward 4 Coun. Susan Stevenson, who questioned the cost of operating the hubs, which has been estimated at $100,000 a day.
“How are we building connections? How is this dignity? How is this health care when they don’t get to stay very long?” she asked. “I just want to understand. I want to vote yes, (but) I can’t in this moment.”
Stevenson added that she plans “to do a lot of work between now and council, but I need to be sold on this.”
Deputy Mayor and Ward 2 Coun. Shawn Lewis addressed some concerns raised about the cost of the plan, saying the cost of doing nothing is far greater and that they’re “not just purchasing beds; it’s about providing wrap-around services.”
“Six thousand emergency room visits by those who are identified by the hospitals as individuals experiencing homelessness were taking up time because they had nowhere else to go and it was delaying everybody else who needed the emergency room services because there is no other system for them right now,” he said. “This (hubs) system is proposing to offer that support.”
At the hubs, 24-7 services will be available to those experiencing homelessness, with the goal of giving someone a bed while transitioning to more permanent housing. Future hubs will focus on the other priority groups of couples and medically complex individuals.
As outlined in the city’s Whole of Community Response to Health and Homelessness, which was created by more than 200 people from about 70 organizations across the region, 12 more hubs, as well as 600 support housing units, are still set to be implemented.
The goal is to open the first 100 units and three to five hubs by the end of 2023.
The public is invited to provide input to council prior to a special meeting to finalize the hub locations and operators on Thursday Oct. 5.
– with files from Global News’ Ben Harrietha.
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