A spokesperson for the Rotary Club of Sarnia says as long as the community faces homelessness challenges, discussions will be held to foster a collaborative approach to remedy the situation.
The charitable foundation is hosting a housing and homelessness community forum at the Dante Club in Sarnia on September 24, beginning at 7 p.m.
Michael John Kooy said the presence of homeless encampments has increased over the past six months.
"It's pretty destabilizing. What are those folks doing there? There's safety issues, we know there's addiction issues and so on, but at the same time... these are members of our community," Kooy said. "What is it that we can do as a community? Can we come together as a community to put together a built in Sarnia/ built in Lambton solution that's going to give a path to housing for these folks? What does that path look like? And what are some of the immediate steps we need to take?"
The forum will begin with presentations about what is currently being done to address the housing issue in Lambton County.
Presenters will include members of the County of Lambton such as Supervisor of Homelessness Prevention Ian Hanney and General Manager of Social Services Valerie Colasanti. Julie Harries of Ontario Health Teams Sarnia Lambton, Anita Trussler of Community Health Integrated Care Team, and Jim Curran of Nightlight will also discuss community response.
A moderated public discussion will follow.
Kooy acknowledged the "range of emotions" surrounding this issue and asked attendees to behave respectfully.
"It's important as a community that we acknowledge that there are public safety concerns and so on," he said. "At the same time, I'm confident there will be a positive end to this story. We just need to find the way as a community and coming together is a big part of it, and engaging in an ongoing process is also a big part of it."
Tough political questions will likely come up at the event. Kooy said the questions will be noted but it's not something they'll be able to answer.
"We can pass them on to politicians and I expect political leaders will be listening as well," he said. "That may be for further forums."
While small encampments have been noticed around the county, the make-shift homeless settlement at Rainbow Park has generated frustration from those in the surrounding area.
The City of Sarnia recently developed a protocol with how to legally respond to homeless encampments but has also racked up a hefty bill on sanitation and security measures at the downtown park, fueling further frustrations on the controversial matter.
The Rotary Club held a similar forum in May and the Sarnia Police Service hosted a public discussion on September 5.
Kooy said people are "in touch" with the situation, with what other communities are doing, and want a platform to share ideas about possible solutions.
"We see this as part of a series of public engagement," he said. "We'll be meeting as a community again as part of the process. At each time, as a community we grow, we learn more, we gather courage and we can start to imagine -- we can dream. What is the ideal response here that we can build together?"
Kooy noted that any solution will require a multi-pronged approach.
"It doesn't happen piecemeal, we need to come together as a community and that's what this is about as part of this process," he said.
Kooy said they're going to follow a strict schedule so the event ends on time at 9 p.m.
Those who would like to submit a question to potentially be asked during the meeting can email sarniacommunityforum@gmail.com.
The forum will also be live streamed on The Show with David Burrows.