There's 'deep concern' about people sleeping on London streets

An advocate for people experiencing homelessness in London says he's "deeply concerned" about those sleeping in shelters and in city alleyways and doorways. 

"We are very concerned as a community and as a homeless coalition. We're seeing some of our highest shelter numbers and some of the highest numbers of people sleeping rough. We're deeply concerned about that," said Abe Oudshoorn, the chair of the London Homeless Coalition. 

City numbers show that the actual numbers of people staying in the city's emergency shelters is down slightly over previous years, but people are staying in shelter for longer, said Jan Richardson, the city's manager of homeless prevention. 

"There's no doubt about it, our emergency shelters are all operating at full capacity and have been throughout most of 2018," Richardson said. "We do look daily at how many people are in our emergency shelters and we have additional beds in each of our shelters should people need them." 

But there are those who either set up urban camp sites or sleep rough, in downtown doorways or alleyways to keep away from the cold. 

In August the city launched a formal coordinated response that sees London Cares Homeless Response Services go out to urban campsites or to speak to those sleeping rough, instead of bylaw officers. 

"It's a very, very positive direction for the city to be taking. We're paying attention to those who are very vulnerable," Richardson said. 

"If you do see someone sleeping rough, please call or email and we will work with that individual to assist them through any means possible," she said. 

No vacancy

There is a very tight rental housing market in the city, as well as the rest of the province. 

That means landlords ask for more references or employment records, leaving those without unable to rent. It also means increasing rent, said Oudshoorn. 

"We have a very, very tight rental market right now. Landlords increase rents and they're more selective in terms of screening tenants," he said. 

The provincial government has also taken away rent controls, partly to try to bring new development into the market. 

"At a time when we're desperate for affordable housing, the provincial government is focusing on development of new units, and how they can assist brining more units to the market, with no consideration for affordability," said Oudshoorn. 

"So while they recognize that there's a lack of housing stock, what is not evident in their consultation is a consideration of new housing being affordable."

A crackdown on opioid over-prescription has also led to more people using crystal meth, Oudshoorn said, a drug that leads to erratic behaviour that makes it difficult to stay housed. 

"The impact of crystal meth are exponentially worse in terms of having behaviours that lead to eviction, that lead to sleeping rough."