Proposed homeless hub locations won’t be subject of public input meetings before council decision

Six months after the Whole of Community Response to Homelessness was unveiled, city staff admit Londoners still have many questions about the strategy.

“A lot of concerns, a lot of fear. What will it look like? Where it’s going to be? How it will be managed, how it will be kept,” Deputy City Manager of Social and Health Development Kevin Dickins told attendees of a public meeting in northwest London. “Those are completely reasonable feeling to have, and good questions to ask.”

About 50 people attended the second of five public meetings being held to discuss the council-approved criteria for locating low-barrier service hubs and lead agencies to operate the first two to five sites.

Among the attendees with questions for civic administration was former city councillor Sandy Levin.

Levin asked if public engagement will take place after a list of proposed hub sites is made public in September, but prior to council’s final decision.

“So the engagement with community will be after the selection by council, I assume?” Levin asked.

CTV News asked Mayor Josh Morgan if council would benefit from site-specific feedback from neighbours prior to finalizing hub locations and lead agencies.

Morgan stressed that the urgent need to address the homelessness crisis restricts what council might otherwise like to do during the decision making process.

“We could really stretch this out and get more public feedback on each and every detail, but at some point we have to actually get people off the streets and indoors,” he explained. “So that’s what we’re working towards for the first five [hubs].”

Frontline agencies interested in operating a service hub must secure a proposed location and respond to the city’s Request for Proposals bidding process by Sept. 5.

After civic administration evaluates the bids, a public report will be prepared recommending the first two to five hub locations.

The mayor intends to call a special meeting of the Strategic Priorities and Policy Committee to discuss the recommended service hub locations/agencies.

A few days later, Morgan will hold a special council meeting to finalize the hub decisions.

During that time period, the public will have to directly contact councillors if they want to offer input.

“We are also starting a public media campaign that will be going across the city to inform individuals, so that they can give the best possible feedback and get the answers they need,” Morgan added.

To get the first hubs open this year, staff are only considering existing buildings in the 8,000-10,000 sq. ft. range that are on properties zoned to permit emergency care establishments.

Rezoning a property would take months, require a public participation meeting, and risk a lengthy appeal process — with about 2,000 Londoners currently experiencing homelessness,

The city will offer successful bidders a two-year contract plus an option for four, one-year extensions.

The Whole of Community Response to Homelessness proposes 12 to 15 low barrier hubs (25 to 35 beds each) and 600 supportive housing units for the highest needs people living unhoused.

City Manager Lynne Livingstone told residents at Thursday’s public meeting that the rapid implementation of the homelessness strategy is necessary to save lives.

“We need to be trying to implement and move forward at the same time as we’re figuring things out,” Livingstone admitted. “So it’s going to be messy. It isn’t going to be perfect.”

She echoed Morgan’s commitment from last week that problems at hub sites will be addressed quickly.

Livingstone still expects to open the first hubs this December.

There are three remaining public engagement sessions about the council-approved criteria for hub locations:

Tuesday, September 5, 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Byron Optimist Community Centre – 1308 Norman Avenue

Wednesday, September 6, 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
East Lions Community Centre – 1731 Churchill Avenue

Thursday, September 7, 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Carling Heights Optimist Community Centre – 656 Elizabeth Street