‘This will be lifesaving,’ homeless advocate pleased with solutions that ended a four-day hunger strike
A four-day hunger strike intended to draw attention to the growing need to help the homeless population in London, Ont. has come to an end.
On Friday evening, the Forgotten 519 Coalition, local agencies, and the city came to a consensus after several hour-long meetings.
Dan Oudshoorn, an outreach worker was camped outside London city hall since Tuesday morning when he began his hunger strike, in support of the Forgotten 519 coalition.
“I appreciate all that hard work that people did to produce the outcome we came to,” Oudshoorn said.
“A lot of folks going by would say I was thinking about you in the rain last night and in the heat. I was there for four days but so many other folks are there day after day and night after night so it’s a sobering reminder as to what other folks are going to.”
The parties agreed on taking immediate action to address the current issues that homeless people are facing. The city agreed to provide water and “food or acute needs” which will be funded by the city. They also plan to install shower stations for people living in encampments.
The locations of those have yet to be determined.
“We are grateful for the willingness of agencies from across the system to come together. The perspectives of frontline workers, who are seeing and experiencing first-hand the impacts of a system that is stretched and broken, are essential in this process,” said Kevin Dickins, the deputy city manager, social and health development with the City of London.
Through the sessions, both yesterday and today, we have identified steps we can take – at the city and across the system – to better support people who are experiencing homelessness, addictions, and episodic mental health challenges,”
According to the city’s ‘immediate action to support the city’s most marginalized’, these solutions will be put in place by the co-chair of the London homeless coalition and other agencies.
Their solution to provide 24/7 support will be discussed in another meeting on Aug. 16.
“There is immediacy in getting this plan in place ahead of the winter months that will rapidly come,” stated in the document.
Other projects that will be considered include a community hub, a unity, Atlohsa project, and a circle of support.
The city’s goal is to have a plan ready for these supports within four weeks.
In addition, they agreed to change when bylaw officers are needed in responding to people living in encampments.
The city agreed to only have officers involved if a frontline worker requests it.
“I think it’s a remarkable shift in priorities in how people are treated that will make an immediate lifesaving difference,” Oudshoorn said on Saturday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.