New city rules for resting spaces put lives of homeless at risk: Officials

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City council’s sudden decision to limit where homeless people can get rest at night will put lives at risk and do nothing to solve London’s homelessness crisis, leaders of two shelters charge.

“Londoners need to know that, with this direction, there will be no 24/7 drop-in space anywhere in the city at night. So, if you see a person in distress or a homeless person who is freezing cold this winter, there would be nowhere to direct them,” Sarah Campbell, executive director of Ark Aid Street Mission, said Wednesday.

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On top of other cuts made or proposed by this council, more than 100 indoor spaces available at night last winter for homeless Londoners will vanish, with nothing to replace them, she said.

Two weekends ago, when temperatures dropped, Ark Aid turned away 65 people from its 30 resting spaces – which will be gone under new council direction – and this past week three people in London died from homelessness, Campbell said.

“It’s not even winter yet. This is taking away a very critical resource,” she said. “At the end of the day, is this decision about politics or people?”

Council is spending a lot of energy on a measure that solves nothing, said Chuck Lazenby, executive director of Unity Project Shelter.

“This is not going to stop encampments or people being on the street and existing in BIAs and neighbourhoods. It doesn’t get people indoors. It doesn’t get people accessing treatment or mental health,” she said.

With no warning to shelters or other homelessness organizations, council decided 9-6 Tuesday to ban resting spaces for homeless people in buildings that sit on main streets in business improvement areas (BIAs).

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The motion, introduced by Ward 4 Coun. Susan Stevenson, was not listed on council’s agenda and came up during discussion about rules regarding where homeless encampments can be located.

“I just didn’t see it coming. I was very surprised,” Campbell said.

Stevenson said she put the motion forward to address concerns of local businesses.

The new rules cover any drop-in spaces that would be funded with provincial or federal dollars. The city is seeking to fund its $2.3-million encampment strategy with funding from Ottawa and Queen’s Park.

Ark Aid has provided services for vulnerable Londoners for 40 years on Dundas Street, the main street in the business district.

Among its services at the Dundas Street location are 30 resting spaces, places where people can drop in at night to sleep or relax, coming and going as they wish.

At its Cronyn-Warner centre at 432 William St., Ark Aid offers 60 shelter beds, where people stay on a more permanent basis. They would not be affected by the new rules.

Last winter, Ark Aid also staffed about another 30 resting spaces at buildings owned by CMHA Thames Valley Addiction and Mental Health Services. SafeSpace London had funding for 15 overnight spaces last winter.

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There’s no funding this winter for the 30 spaces at CMHA or the 15 at SafeSpace.

And all of Ark Aid’s 90 beds in its two locations could be closed Jan. 1, 2025, if funding from the provincial and federal government doesn’t come through.

Ark Aid asked the city for $4.2 million annually to keep the 90 beds open. The city has balked at the request, and hopes to get the provincial-federal money for it. If it doesn’t come through, the 90 beds could shut down.

Ark Aid feels “very much” under attack at the moment, Campbell said.

But the fine points of the new rules need to be clarified, including if Ark Aid can continue to offer resting spaces with its own, donated dollars at the Dundas Street location, she said.

“We can’t abandon those having the least voice and the most marginalized because it’s harder. We have to keep trying,” Campbell said.

Unity Project could face a longer-term challenge under the new rules, because it’s planning a new shelter at 788 to 794 Dundas St.

The organization doesn’t know how many, if any resting spaces would be provided, Lazenby said.

But the new rules impact everyone trying to shelter, house and help homeless people, she said.

“We work in a network of community services in order to support people who are experiencing homelessness. Whenever that network is compromised, it compromises our ability to provide adequate services,” she said.

rrichmond@postmedia.com

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