‘Dystopian’ landscape: Council mulls multimillion-dollar plan to end chronic homelessness in Hamilton

As snow piled up on the barren piece of land where he'd once pitched his tent, Brandon Comley welcomed the chance to live in something sturdier.

A friend offered him the old truck camper, so he and his girlfriend turned it into a ramshackle home, elevated off the ground by a stack of belongings.

For about two months, the camper has kept them warmer than the tent did.

And for that, Comley has been grateful," he says as an icy evening breeze blows across the debris-strewn, muddy expanse north of Barton Street East.

Even though it drives my girlfriend and I chaotic because it's not the way we want to live," the 30 year-old says.

City officials say that's not how they want anyone to live as they draft a comprehensive plan to eradicate chronic homelessness in Hamilton by 2025.

This week, staff gave councillors a preview of that multimillion-dollar strategy ahead of a final budget session at the end of this month.

As it stands, the city expects to dedicate roughly $40 million in federal ($10 million), provincial ($23.6 million) and municipal ($6.4 million) dollars to these efforts this year and next.

But to close the gap on chronic homelessness, staff have identified about $44 million in additional measures that are necessary. A little more than half of that is on the table for this year's budget, with the balance up for consideration later this year or next.

If fully funded, the plan would still take some time" to address chronic homelessness, but ultimately a lot of the existing challenges could be addressed," housing director Michelle Baird told councillors Thursday.

The enhancements are expected to help about 600 people avoid homelessness, offer permanent housing to roughly 1,400 households and add 240 beds to the shelter system.

But it will take more than municipal dollars to fund such a plan, advised Mike Zegarac, general manager of finance and corporate services.

I don't see a path forward for the city alone to fund this level of investment."

Reserves alone won't cover it, Zegarac warned, pointing to additional liabilities on the horizon, including provincially mandated development charge exemptions expected to deliver a multimillion-dollar blow to the city.

Councillors praised staff for the comprehensive plan, but also argued the province had left municipalities in the lurch with limited resources to turn back the tide of a spiralling crisis.

I don't think any municipality in Ontario could say, Yes, we can fund all of this on the property taxpayer,' so we do need help," Coun. Brad Clark said.

Likewise, Coun. Cameron Kroetsch said the problem was the product of a massive defunding" of social housing and public health over a generation.

The aftermath, however, is on everyone's plate, including that of council, he added.

And if we take that responsibility seriously - I think we all do - it means doing whatever we can do to turn that ship around."

Staff's proposed plan would tackle chronic homelessness on a number of fronts, including the repair of affordable housing units and building more of them.

Also in the mix are additional wrap-round" services for those with complex mental health and addiction issues, to help them stay off the street.

Rental supplements to help people afford units in the private market, and boosts for shelters, drop-in spaces and residential care facilities are other cornerstones.

Dystopian' landscape

At the end of December, 1,536 people were considered actively homeless," meaning they'd accessed shelters and other programs in the previous 90 days.

Of those, 488 were experiencing chronic homelessness, which is considered six months or more without housing, a city report noted.

The average length of shelter stays, meanwhile, increased to 88 days in 2022 from 80 days the year before. That hike is due to a lack of housing options for people amid skyrocketing rents.

It's a bottleneck that's putting more pressure on shelters, which are meant to serve as short-term emergency accommodation before people are rehoused.

Operators, meanwhile, say budgets are tight, shelters are full and underpaid staff are burning out as demands, such as overdoses, increase.

In 30 years, I'd have to say I've never seen anything like what we're dealing with at this point," Katherine Kalinowski, chief operating officer of Good Shepherd, told councillors.

We are also dealing with a landscape that, I think, is almost dystopian in terms of homelessness in this community."

The local YMCA's 174-bed transitional-housing program for men on James Street South is also feeling the pressure, said president and CEO Manny Figueiredo.

Many residents, 75 per cent, struggle with mental illness or addiction, he noted. Last year, six men died in their beds ... because of a lack of some of the services they require."

Hamilton officials, along with municipal counterparts across Ontario, have pointed to a lack of provincially funded health services to help keep those with complex mental health and addiction challenges off the street.

Last year, the staff report noted, roughly 23 per cent (940 people) and 4 per cent (179) of those who accessed the homelessness system had a high" or very high ... complexity of co-occurring needs," respectively.

Balanced' enforcement

The city doesn't have supports to effectively house" those with the most serious issues, Baird told councillors.

As such, housing outreach staff, rather than bylaw officers, are taking the lead on encampments, including a cluster of tents in a laneway behind the Whitehern heritage site by city hall and across from the MacNab Street South YWCA, she said in an interview.

We are trying to take a soft and balanced approach."

Law enforcement enters the picture if there are safety issues, including when tents pitched on the sidewalk block pedestrians' passage, Baird said.

In the meantime, she said, staff don't know when the MacNab pedestrian tunnel might reopen after the city blocked it with plywood in February due to safety concerns.

Rather than uproot people, where possible," the city aims to let them stay put, she said.

The further we disperse them, the more challenging it is for us and our outreach workers to connect with them."

For Comley, frequent moves in the past have been a source of frustration layered on top of the grind of being homeless.

Apart from rising housing costs, landlords have been reluctant to rent to someone on social assistance like him.

There's always something that gets in the way."

Teviah Moro is a reporter at The Spectator. tmoro@thespec.com

Homelessness in Hamilton

• The city plans about $40 million worth of initiatives to tackle homelessness in 2023-24, which includes funds from three levels of government. The municipal contribution is $6.4 million.

• Additional proposed investments of $44 million would result in enhanced prevention" for roughly 600 people, housing for about 1,400 households and 240 more shelter beds.

• During the COVID-19 pandemic, the city boosted shelter beds to 500 from 341. Provincial funding that supported this expansion, including drop-in spaces and street outreach, ended.

• Last year, 4,037 people accessed city-funded homeless-serving programs, including shelters. By the end of last year, 1,536 were actively" homeless, having accessed the system in the previous 90 days. That's up from averages of 1,024 in 2020 and 1,202 in 2021.

• Of the 1,536 people, 488 were chronically homeless, which means six months or more. The average length of shelters stay increased to 88 days in 2022, up from 80 days in 2021.

• Last year, roughly 28 per cent of those who accessed the system had a high" (23 per cent or 940 people) or very high" (4 per cent or 179 people) complexity of co-occurring needs." Many of those need additional health support services to stay housed.

• Hamilton sheds affordable housing units as operating agreements with provincial and federal governments end. Between 2001 and 2020, 1,654 units were lost, and by 2032, all operating agreements expire.

Source: Ending Chronic Homelessness, City of Hamilton