County Council will have a better idea from local residents in the new year on where things stand with housing and homelessness and what needs to be prioritized.
Lambton County's Homelessness Prevention & Children's Services department launched a survey on December 3. Participants are asked to share their opinions on current challenges and strategies that may help address issues.
"We did a similar survey in 2019 when we were working on updating the county's 10-year housing and homeless plan," said Social Services Division General Manager Valerie Colasanti. "At the time we did extensive community consultations but we know the landscape of the community has changed due to the impacts of COVID-19 so we did think it was a good idea to go back and resurvey the community."
However, staff were prompted to launch the survey sooner rather than later after being directed to do so during a recent County Council meeting.
The request to staff was prompted after results from the 2021 Homelessness Enumeration found an increase of over 200 per cent of individuals and families who experienced homelessness, compared to results from 2018.
Some of the questions listed in the short online questionnaire are in regards to which groups experience a more difficult time finding housing, what the most pressing issues are, and what should be done.
"We've certainly initiated a number of homeless prevention programs and we're wondering if we're on the right track with those programs," said Colasanti. She said the survey will also help identify where residents notice gaps in in the system.
Although some recommendations made to address housing and homelessness may not fall under the county's authority, Colasanti said every suggestion is valued as it may specify where more advocacy is needed.
"Certainly the county has limitations on what they can implement but as the Service System Manager, we certainly work with the provincial government as well as Reaching Home with the federal government so I don't think we should discount any idea," she said.
"I know it's a busy time of year but I encourage people to go [online] and look at the survey and complete it. It really will help us map out the next several years in our community."
The community input survey will be available online until Sunday, December 19.
Colasanti said survey results will be compiled and presented to council on February 2, 2022.
