Windsor homeless shelters at or near capacity as charity says no sleeping bags left to hand out

During a week where temperatures dipped below freezing, Windsor's homeless shelters and support centres are preparing for Winter months. They say they're having difficulties meeting the needs of the city's growing homeless population.

The Downtown Mission and Welcome Centre Shelter for Women and Families are both at or near capacity, according to Rukshini Ponniah-Goulin.

"We shouldn't be at capacity already but unfortunately we are," said Pooniah-Goulin, executive director of the mission. 

It has room for about 200 people each night and is preparing for more people to stay at the shelter for the colder months ahead. 

"We all are trying to prepare for the winter with extra crash mats and things like that," she told the city's community services standing committee on Wednesday. 

Those changes should allow for another 25 to 30 people to stay at the shelter. 

Hundreds of sleeping bags needed for winter

City staff told the committee there were 549 people who were homeless in Windsor as of last December. 

Street Help, a volunteer run organization that provides meals and clothing for hundreds of people each month, is putting out a call for sleeping bags after handing out its last one earlier this week.

"It was really heartbreaking for us throughout today as people were asking if they could have a sleeping bag and we had to turn them away," said Christine Wilson-Furlonger who runs the homeless centre. 

She said they had to turn away more than 60 people looking for a sleeping bag.

"It's just going to get colder and people are going to be more desperate and we fear for them."

Wilson-Furlonger said that previous years they've asked the community to donate 300 sleeping bags to last through the first months of the winter.

This year she expects to need 400 more to meet demand because of the growing population. 

"It's hard for us right now."

Affordable housing, increases to poverty supports needed

Wilson-Furlong said she's noticed a shift among the people she meets at Street Help.

"People are more depressed. They have nothing and they don't feel like our government is doing enough for them," she said. 

And not all of the 400 people who the centre serves each month are homeless, according to Wilson-Furlonger. 

One thing she would like to see is an increase to the Ontario Disability Support Program and Ontario Works. 

"You would need, with the market rents right now, probably four of five people for one small bedroom apartment to be able to afford rent."

Wilson-Furlong said there needs to be more affordable housing built to meet the current demand, which is the same thing Pooniah-Goulin from the Downton Mission told the council committee. 

Pooniah-Goulin told the committee the shelter usually sees a dip in use during the summer months but told them this year there's been an increase. 

She said the greatest need the shelter has is access to affordable housing. 

"We just need more affordable housing units with supports for people to exit shelter and stay outside of shelter."

Wait list now sits at 7,700 people

Windsor's wait list for affordable housing was 5,000 in December of 2018, a number city staff said has now grown to 7,70 five years later.

The committee reviewed an annual update on the 10-year housing and homelessness plan for Windsor-Essex, which was first approved in 2014, and renewed in 2019.

Staff wrote in the report that the provincial government "has not kept up with the current rate of inflation which has resulted in increased housing and grocery costs."

The report said indicated there are 4,224 single adults in Windsor-Essex getting support through Ontario Works and broke down what kind of financial support they would receive. 

That person, according to the report, would get $343 for basic needs and a maximum shelter allowance of $390, totalling $733.

If they're also receiving financial support from the Ontario Disability Support Program they would get an additional $1,308.

Monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Windsor starts at around $1,200 on some listing agnecies websites.

In the report, staff asked council to "passionately" advocate upper levels of government to increase funding for social services, affordable housing and mental health and addictions programs. 

City administration said they need more help to see progress when asked during the committee hearing if they had enough resources for homelessness and housing programs. 

"If we really want to move the needle on this we can't do it with the resources we have," said Andrew Daher, commissioner of human and health services with the city of Windsor. 

"We're going to need more support. We're going to need more staff in order to deliver this. Doing it on the side of desk is not the best option and probably not going to be the best outcome."