There are enough shelter beds for everyone in Waterloo region, so why do some remain on the street?

The Region of Waterloo has enough emergency shelter spaces for everyone who needs them, according to a report going before the committee of the whole Tuesday. 

But as of last month, local service providers were aware of 105 people sleeping in encampments, on the street or in their cars — a number the region acknowledges could be higher as not everyone who's homeless is in touch with social services. 

So why are so many people sleeping unsheltered? 

"We … strive really hard to work with our emergency shelter partners to provide options throughout the community," said Chris McEvoy, the region's manager of housing policy and homeless prevention. 

"We know that we do not have enough options to meet all of the different needs, demands and assets of the community members." 

McEvoy said staff do their best to understand why people don't want to use shelters and come up with options for them. Spaces have been added in the last year for couples, and a partnership with the Humane Society means people have a place to send their pets while staying in a shelter. 

Still on the to-do list is finding better solutions for those who decline to use shelters because of problems with substance use, McEvoy said. 

No plans to sanction encampments

What isn't on the table is the idea of sanctioning or funding encampments, including A Better Tent City in Kitchener, the committee report said. According to the report, this would take resources away from the region's broader goal of getting people into permanent housing. 

Aleksandra Petrovic, executive director of the Social Development Centre of Waterloo Region, questions that position.

"If we don't sanction them, then what is the alternative? To continue criminalizing people who resort to public spaces and living in safety of their peers?" said Petrovic. 

She pointed to a report on encampments by Leilani Farha, a UN special rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, that calls for governments to ensure people in camps have access to basics like sanitation facilities and drinking water while different housing options are being negotiated. 

Petrovic also thinks the regional government's current numbers underestimate the number of people who are unsheltered in Waterloo region. 

As of June, the report says, 206 people were staying in shelter on a given night, and an estimated 339 people locally were chronically homeless.  A point-in-time count set for September is expected to provide more detail about who and how many people are homeless in the region. 

Anne Tinker, executive director of the Bridges Shelter in Cambridge, says it could be politically difficult to sanction encampments. Still, she thinks it's likely encampments will be around for the foreseeable future, which means it could be helpful to provide more public washrooms, showers and other facilities for people who choose to stay in them. 

"I can't force them to come into a shelter, but they're still human beings," said Tinker. 

Nearly 6,700 waiting for affordable housing

Although the region isn't sanctioning encampments, the committee report says staff try to connect people living in them with social programs and services. 

The report says an interim housing site at University Avenue has helped 80 people who were previously unsheltered find a safe indoor space in the last year. The site has been granted an extension through August 2022. 

A total of 517 affordable housing units are being developed in Waterloo region right now, up from 117 developed between 2018 and 2020.

The region has a goal of building 2,500 units in the next five years, and ending chronic homelessness by 2025. 

There are 6,695 people on the region's wait list for affordable housing.