Lambton County staff are working to better understand why people are homeless so they can address the root causes.
General Manager of Social Services Valerie Colasanti said they're working to develop a coordinated access system.
"What that means is anyone who enters any of our agencies, so if they go to the Inn of the Good Shepherd, if they went through LEO [Lambton Elderly Outreach], if they went through CMHA [Canadian Mental Health Association], we would start to track who they are, where they're living, why they're homeless and start to work with them that way."
She said they'll be collecting a By-Name list, which is a real-time list of all people experiencing homelessness in the county.
Colasanti said they're also trying to put more preventative services in place, so fewer people rely on shelters.
"At the county, we've hired a manager of homelessness prevention to really start to focus more on the homeless prevention piece. We received just over $3 million from the province to provide homeless prevention, and that goes all the way from emergency shelters to working with CMHA to find people places to live, affordable housing benefits or working with LEO on the Hospital to Homes program," she said.
Colasanti said they expect to have a better handle on the situation this winter because prevention programs have been in place longer.
She said every year additional housing units and supports are added, including "Ohana Landing" that just celebrated its grand opening last week.
The Good Shepherd's Lodge has a maximum capacity of 25 and provides emergency shelter to those experiencing a period of homelessness.
River City Vineyard can house a maximum of 22 individuals each night.
The county has hired VINK Consulting to update its existing 10 year Housing and Homelessness Plan.
Representatives from local social service agencies will participate in a workshop Thursday, November 14, at the Sarnia Golf and Curling Club to provide feedback.