The Municipality of Chatham-Kent is looking for public feedback surrounding homeless encampments.
The municipality said it's trying to reach a consistent approach to better determine what areas are suitable for a homeless encampment, and what areas are not, to reduce the harms that the homelessness crisis is having on the entire community, including those living in encampments.
A survey has been launched by Chatham-Kent Housing Services to gather insights from local businesses and the general public.
The municipality said it is committed to addressing the complex issues surrounding encampments within the community and is seeking input from businesses and residents to help guide future policies, adding this problem cannot be solved by enforcement.
"Our goal is not to secure consensus on rules and guidelines, but rather to improve our recommendations to Council that balances a variety of experiences and rights," a statement from the municipality said. "Homelessness as well as the opioid crisis is impacting a growing number of Chatham-Kent residents and business owners, but it is having a far superior impact on the people directly living in this crisis. Every day is a matter of life and death for people living in encampments. Finding an improved path forward to reduce harms while helping people get the treatment and support services that they need remains our priority."
A proposal went Council in June with protocols to address encampments on both municipal and private land and a report is due back at Council next month.
In June, Director of Employment and Social Services Polly Smith said the protocols will not eliminate encampments, but they will ensure that the rights of all Chatham-Kent residents are respected and will prevent further harm to those who are unhoused across the municipality.
Smith said homelessness and visible encampments have increased in Chatham-Kent in recent years along with calls to police and municipal staff to move them, while at the same time, available shelter beds and motel rooms have decreased. Smith said solutions for local unhoused residents have decreased because of that.
She noted administration recognized that a new approach was needed to balance the rights of the unhoused residents and those of nearby neighbours and businesses and a committee was formed to create the protocols on both municipally owned property and private property.
Smith previously said the protocols focus on the human rights of unhoused residents of Chatham-Kent, which often take priority over bylaws or other legislation.
According to Smith, the removal of encampments from municipally owned land may not be possible without ensuring there is adequate shelter space for the people living in the encampment, regardless of whether there is a bylaw that restricts that type of activity on the space.
Chatham-Kent’s current emergency shelter at Victoria Park Place operated at 99 per cent capacity on average in 2024, according to the municipality, highlighting that there are not enough beds for the approximately 200 or more individuals experiencing homelessness in Chatham-Kent.
Municipal officials emphasized the true solution is more housing options and funding commitments from the provincial and federal governments.
Communities across Canada have struggled to find solutions that address the needs of both people living in encampments and the communities where they pop up.
Homelessness and encampments continue to grow as a result of several "systemic failures", the municipality said, including:
a lack of affordable housing,
frozen social assistance rates,
insufficient mental health and addiction treatment services,
limited accessible emergency shelter space,
a broader lack of affordability for basic needs, and
insufficient resources at the municipal level to address these issues.
Click here to fill out the survey. The survey will be open until August 30, 2024.