A recent study is giving insight into the number of people facing homelessness in the municipality and why.
Municipal staff presented the study to Chatham-Kent council on Monday, which outlined findings from Registry Week 2018, a five-day municipal initiative that took place in April of last year. Over 80 volunteers surveyed residents across Chatham-Kent to find out the number of people who are considered homeless and gather some of their personal details.
Registry Week found that 70 people in the municipality identify as homeless. Of those 70 people, 56 per cent were male and the average age was 38. By comparison, Windsor, with a population of 217,000, identified 107 homeless people in their community. The smaller municipality of Stratford had 28 homeless against their population of 31,000.
"It looks like we're doing a good job in trying to assess the homelessness situation," said Councillor Joe Faas. "We're not done doing what we should do. We have seven per cent of people that are still unsheltered, even one is too many. But probably compared to others we are in pretty good shape."
According to Faas, he believes one of the main hurdles that municipality has to overcome is getting help to those who don't want to take it.
Chantal Perry, chair of Registry Week and manager of employment and social services, said she and her team work closely with mental health associations in the hopes of helping homeless people make good decisions, even those who might not seem to want the help.
She made it clear that while homeless shelters and other services are great, affordable housing is the key component to helping end homelessness
"Housing is the only way to end homelessness," Perry said. "Despite public pressure, as a community, we need to support housing first initiatives rather than emergency shelter options which are reactionary and keep people homeless," Perry said.
According to Perry, supportive housing programs in the area have waitlists and with the average one bedroom home in Chatham costing around $800 a month, housing has reached a crisis point.
"When you have a community where we have a large percentage of low-income people, that is really not realistic or affordable," Perry said.
When asked how homelessness compares in rural areas versus the city centre, Perry said it is a lot more hidden.
"People couch surf a lot more often, they usually couch surf and use their family and friends as support systems until they no longer have the ability to do so. Once that happens and they have nowhere else to go, they usually migrate into Chatham," said Perry.
She also noted that it is common for people experiencing homelessness to travel from community to community in order to access different services.
The report also put a spotlight on the strain that homelessness can have on emergency services. Over the past year, those surveyed had 31 emergency room visits, 11 ambulance rides, 18 nights in jail and 97 contacts with police.
To learn more about Registry Week and its findings click here. If you or someone you know are experiencing homelessness you can reach the homeless response line by calling 519-354-6628.
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HOMELESSNESS BY THE NUMBERS IN CHATHAM-KENT*
Health issues of respondents
•Had a disability: 29% •Had a chonric medical issue: 40% •Struggled with addiction: 43% •Had a mental health issue: 53%
Combined days of respondents spent homeless in the last 12 months
•10,756 OR •29.5 years
Average days spent homeless the last 12 months per respondent
•182
Top reasons for homelessness
•Family breakdown: 31% •Unsafe housing condition: 21% •Conflict with family: 13%
Housing status of respondents
•Hidden homeless (no fixed adress, staying with friends) •Sheltered (living in community based emergency shelters) •Unsheltered
Who is homeless in CK
•Indigenous: 20% •Youth: 20% •LGBTQ: 11% •Military: 3%
Previously living in foster care or a group home
•26%
*Numbers based on report from CK Registry Week