Whether it's hubs or supportive housing, advocates say more support needed for homelessness

A day after London's mayor said he is walking back on the goal of opening up to 15 homeless hubs in the coming years, advocates for the city's vulnerable say there is still a long way to go to support people who are suffering on the streets.

"We have a lot of people who are experiencing homelessness in the city of London who have a variety of different needs and a variety of different complexities," said Chuck Lazenby, the executive director of Unity Project. 

"I'm not concerned about being fixated on a number, I'm concerned about being fixated on ensuring there's enough services available for people," Lazenby said. 

At a ceremony Monday that marked the opening of the permanent location of London's youth hub, Josh Morgan said he is "not fixated" on the number of hubs coming to the city.

Some London advocates agree that the city's homeless response is less about the quantity of hubs, but more about the support options available.

Dozens of London service providers developed the homeless hub idea in 2023, which was supported by council. After an anonymous donor gave the city $25 million to help create permanent places for people experiencing homelessness, the city planned to open as many as 15 hubs with three to five opening in the first year.

Two have been opened so far. Now, Morgan is suggesting the city will modify its hubs plan based on how many people successfully move from hubs into permanent housing. 

"I know [Morgan] said he wasn't fixated on the number, but I know that he's still committed to the hubs plan overall," said Steve Courtice, the executive director of the London Intercommunity Health Centre. 

Courtice, who was part of the early conferences for the hubs plan, said the number of hubs needed in London has always been flexible based on need in the community.

While he doesn't know the exact number of hubs necessary in London, he doesn't expect it will be 15 due to the city's work building supportive housing options, he added.

"Hubs aren't meant to be places where permanent people are permanently housed," said Courtice. "They're meant to be a place to get somebody in for a short period of time to get them stabilized and then moved into permanent housing. If we're able to build permanent supportive housing faster, then we need fewer hubs to be able to move people through." 

Federal and provincial support needed

Whether it's hubs or supportive housing, both Courtice and Lazenby said that it's not just the city's responsibility to bring the projects to life. 

"I think London is actually trying to do a lot," Lazenby said. "I think there's a lack of understanding from the provincial and federal government as to how big this crisis is."

Courtice said he would like to see more programs and funding from the provincial and federal governments to move the city's work faster. 

"What I would hope is that those two levels of government would get on the same page and make sure that as we're building housing, we're also making sure there's money for supports within housing to help people be successful," Courtice said. 

On Nov. 15, the federal government said it would pour $5 million over two years to address the homelessness crisis in London. How the city uses the cash is flexible, and it can be used for projects such as building new housing, renovating shelter space or getting people access to treatment. 

In September, the province announced that it will spend $378 million to open 19 homelessness and addiction recovery treatment, or HART, hubs in Ontario. London, in collaboration with the local branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association, has submitted one HART hub application.

A health ministry spokesperson said HART hubs will reflect regional needs and that the province is focused on "care that connects people to the care and treatment they need, where and when they need it."

Politics impact city's aspirations

There's more to the relationship between the different levels of government that impacts the city's response to homelessness, says one political science professor.

"The province has a lot of power in saying what municipalities can and cannot do," said Jacquie Newman, who teaches at King's University College. "Municipalities are going to be very keen to stay within the parameters to keep an eye on what the province is doing."

Municipalities tend to back away from aspirational policies when they receive criticism from the public, and this has been a pattern in London, she added. 

"Council very much tends to make these bold programs and want to go forward with innovative ways of dealing with issues in town, but at the first sign of pushback from people in the city, they tend to kind of fall back."

She said the city is "caught between a rock and a hard place."

"It's dealing with outcry and concern in various neighbourhoods on the ground and then it's also caught between what the province sees as being appropriate policy," said Newman. "It doesn't leave a lot of room for innovation and experimentation," she said.