London, Ont. shelter providers seek voice at meeting

The Men's Mission run by Mission Services of London is seen in London, Ont. on Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022. (Daryl Newcombe / CTV News)

Two of London's largest homeless shelters are hoping to weigh in at an upcoming committee meeting to review housing services after outcry over changes that would have limited the beds they could provide.

In separate letters, Jon DeActis, executive director at the Centre of Hope and Peter Rozeluk, executive director of Mission Services of London, have each asked for delegation status.

Back in Oct. 2021, the City of London put out a Request for Proposals (RFP) to partners providing shelter for the homeless population.

But current shelter providers took issue with a requirement to have fewer than 50 beds per facility.

The Men's Mission, run by Mission Services of London, and the Salvation Army Centre of Hope both expressed concern about the potential impact of having to reduce their spaces.

The city has since cancelled the Request for Proposal, after receiving submissions that were too costly, and says it will have no impact on current services or existing funding.

The city said in a statement it will continue to work with providers to make improvements and to standardize intakes and efforts to secure permanent housing.

"These are important initiatives, and although the RFP was cancelled, there are a number of opportunities that we are still pursuing with partners to create meaningful and impactful changes to the shelter system this year," said Kevin Dickins, deputy city manager for Social and Health Development.

He added, "The solution to homelessness is housing, and we continue to focus on our collective efforts as a system of providers to focus on housing and housing with supports. We are encouraged by providers that are shifting in this way and we know there will be further improvements to come.”

A report will be presented at the meeting proposing to accept agreements with seven local shelters for one year at a cost of $9.89 million that will maintain the existing number of beds.

The Community and Protective Services Committee will be meeting on Tuesday at 4 p.m.