Region facing a $6.6M shortfall in 2022 for homelessness programs as temporary funding ends

The region is looking at a potential $6.6 million shortfall for its homelessness program in 2022 as temporary pandemic funding from the provincial and federal governments ends next March.

In a report going to the Committee of the Whole on Tuesday, housing officials are asking for increased funding from upper levels of governments to continue the operation of emergency shelters and supports for people facing homelessness during the pandemic.

"The costs have grown considerably as a result of the needs of all of these pieces: isolation spaces, PPE, physical distancing, which lowers the capacity of emergency shelters," Chris McEvoy, manager of housing policy and homelessness prevention told CBC News.

"The reality is that it costs more to operate emergency shelters within a pandemic."

The number of people experiencing chronic homelessness in Waterloo region has increased from 248 individuals in March 2020 to 356 individuals in July of this year.

The temporary funding helped the region expand its emergency shelter program in response to the pandemic and winter overflow by creating additional capacity, primarily in private and semi-private rooms to maintain physical distancing.

"The use of motels and hotels has really expanded in the pandemic and funded largely through provincial and federal dollars and so with those ending we need to ensure community members are supported within excising emergency shelter spaces and that those shelter spaces have the funding they need," McEvoy added.

Region of Waterloo Coun. Elizabeth Clarke said the use of hotels and motels during the pandemic allowed for more shelter space, but it's costly and the region will be re-evaluating that policy going forward, and will set new parameters for how and when they are used.

"It's been a year and a half and that's given us time to come up with more sustainable responses, rather than simply using hundreds of hotel rooms, which is what we did in the beginning," she said.

Some ongoing programs affected by shortfall

Some of those programs included overflow sites at the Super 8 Motel operated by Cambridge Shelter, an overflow site for youth operated by OneRoof Youth Services, and a temporary shelter at St.Marks Lutheran Church overseen by the YW Kitchener Waterloo.

Those programs ended between April and June of this year, but others that may be impacted by the shortfall are still ongoing.

Programs like the Working Centre's University Avenue Interim Housing site, which has been serving up to 80 men and women through a 24/7 model and has been largely supported by the temporary pandemic funding. That program is scheduled to wind-down in August 2022.

"We will need to talk to the community and talk with the Working Centre about what it means for that program to not have long-term sustainable funding and ensure wherever possible, similar to emergency shelters, participants and residents staying in that interim housing are supported toward permanent housing," McEvoy said.

Another program supported by the pandemic funding includes the House of Friendship's (HOF) 24/7 Shelter Care program that was formerly at the Inn on Waterloo and is now in Guelph.

John Neufeld, executive director of the HOF, said the shortfall is concerning since all shelters and the people they serve have benefited from having the additional funding.

"We're very concerned because we've had the opportunity through the pandemic to try and innovate, to try and do things differently and have seen some really good outcomes and don't want to lose the momentum of the positive stuff we've learned through Shelter Care," he said.

"We have learned that we can house people more effectively out of homelessness when we provide shelter in a different way."

Focus on permanent housing

McEvoy said the long-term goal is focusing on getting people into permanent housing. The region hopes to build up to 2,500 new affordable housing units over the next five years.

Clarke said said the region's shelter system is not in a position where it will be turning people away due to lack of capacity and as more people move into permanent housing, it will create more vacancy in shelters.

"One of the things that will change for us in 2022 is that we have 86 new permanent supportive housing units opening up," she said. 

"Our focus is really on not proactively creating more shelter spaces, but creating more housing so that we make space in the shelters by moving more people quickly into permanent housing." 

She said if the region is not successful in securing the funds it needs, staff will have to come back to council and create a plan to move forward using regional dollars.