Chatham-Kent municipal officials say the local homeless problem has gotten better over the last year, but they fear for the future and are launching an initiative called CK Cares.
The goal of the campaign is to end homelessness by creating awareness around the issue and building a supportive community to bust myths and end the stigma surrounding homelessness.
Employment and Social Services Program Manager Josh Myers said Chatham-Kent had 98 homeless on the list people last month, which is down from 200 during the same period about a year ago.
"That's cause for celebration right now because the people we know through Victoria Park (new Chatham shelter), we've seen come through the system, get supports, and get back into housing, but we know with the cost of rent and I'm sure the legal clinic has seen it, the number of evictions that are on hold or taking place, that's coming," said Myers.
Myers also said the numbers have decreased at the new homeless shelter in Chatham, although Rock Missions is finding more homeless people living on the streets these days.
The municipality is reporting there are five affordable housing builds that will be finished next year. There's also a new affordable housing project in Blenheim up for approval at Monday evening's council meeting. Mayor Darrin Canniff said the municipality has 200 affordable housing units, but needs about 1,000 to meet current demand.
Canniff said the CK Cares campaign is just a piece of the puzzle and the ultimate solution is more affordable housing, which can only be realized with funding from upper levels of government.
The mayor said this campaign should help better inform the community about homelessness and stop the rumours.
"People understand the facts and engage, that's what we're looking for, that's the big success. And if we can get donations wonderful and get all of those other things such as volunteers (great). But the base of this is just information. If everyone in Chatham-Kent had base information, we would collectively as a community be better off," Canniff said.
Director of Chatham-Kent Employment and Social Services Polly Smith said one myth is that the average user of homeless services are young men when in fact it's people in their 40s with a significant percentage being females and some families.
Chief Administrative Officer Michael Duben said there are historic myths that need to be ended.
"Everybody who is homeless chooses to be homeless and they don't want to be helped, that they have been bused here from other communities, these are the age old myths that go on and on and when we start seeing that people in our community are not buying into those myths, then I think we had some success," said Duben.
Duben said he has seen elected officials and lawyers fall into homelessness. Homelessness is driven by poverty, but can also be caused by mental health issues or substance use.
Smith noted Chatham-Kent is experiencing a housing crisis and at least three new people become homeless each week, adding that about 500 people became homeless in 2021. She said 21 people got affordable housing last month, but 17 more became homeless.
Smith also said the vacancy rate in Chatham-Kent is at one per cent and rents have doubled in the last four years. The municipality said the crisis is not only affecting households with the deepest economic needs, but low to middle-income earners are also facing more barriers in their search for suitable housing. Smith is encouraging people to donate money or space and volunteer. Rock Missions and Hope Haven are also involved in the CK Cares initiative.
CK Cares homeless campaign launch. (Photo by Paul Pedro)
A summit to address attainable housing will also be held on November 29 at the Capitol Theatre in Chatham. This one-day summit will be held from 9:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. and intends to assist area stakeholders explore novel solutions to address the lack of attainable housing in rural communities.
Free tickets can be reserved at https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/attainable-market-housing-summit-tickets-458555280187
