[homeles_ot-l] Council close vote on homelessness ballot question

[Lynne Browne]

A surprise at Council!

 

Today at City Council, the vote was 12 against and 10 in support of
Councillor Hume's motion to put on the municipal election ballot a question
asking if the City working in consultation with the community should
implement a comprehensive strategy, with an investment of at least $5
million a year, toward the goal of ending homelessness in Ottawa by 2014.
The vote closer than anyone might have predicted.

 

After a lengthy discussion last week, the ATEH Steering Committee decided
that it would support the motion and on Monday sent an Open Letter to
Council (see below). The Alliance's leadership on this issue was recognised
at Council today and portions of our letter were read. Our strategic goal
over the next few months is to ensure that homelessness is a significant
election issue. Today's vote means we are off to a good start. 

 

Over the next few months we will look for ways to encourage voters to ask
the questions on page 13 of the 2009 Report Card. We'll be encouraging
voters to ask candidates if they will:

 

1.      Increase affordable housing by 1,000 units each year and invest more
municipal resources. 

2.      Reinvest the nearly $80 million dollars being removed from the
property tax base by 2018 in new affordable housing and other social
services (some financial responsibility for social services infrastructure
is being uploaded back to the province).

3.      Reduce the number of individuals in emergency shelters by 500 each
year.

4.      Actively abide by Human Rights Policy on Rental Housing and
NIMBYism.

5.      Ensure the City's Poverty Reduction Strategy is successfully
implemented with appropriate funding.

 

More to follow!

Lynne

 

In the news: http://www.ottawasun.com/news/ottawa/2010/04/14/13582251.html 

 

Open Letter to Ottawa Council Members    

April 14, 2010 City Council Meeting    

 

The Alliance to End Homelessness believes that the City of Ottawa ought to
fund and implement a comprehensive strategy to end homelessness in our
community. Increasing the City's leadership will improve awareness and
understanding in the wider community of the reality faced by the parents and
children, the youth and the single women and men who experience homelessness
in our community every year.

To that end, we support Councillor Hume's motion that Council work to place
on the ballot for the coming municipal election a question asking if the
City should implement a comprehensive strategy, with an investment of at
least $5 million a year, toward the goal of ending homelessness in Ottawa by
2014 working in consultation with the Leadership Table on Homelessness,
community agencies, and groups such as the Ottawa Social Housing Network and
the Alliance to End Homelessness. 

Indeed, ATEH will support all innovative ideas that will allow our community
to move forward with solutions and build on the City's current contribution
to services and housing for those who are homeless and those who are at risk
of becoming homeless. As a non-partisan coalition with over 70 agency
members we are confident that the city's many community partners will have
evidence-based recommendations for working with the city to effectively
reduce homelessness or the risk of it for a diversity of people.

The City of Ottawa has shown real leadership in supporting emergency shelter
for those who need it with the result that unlike in many other communities
there were only an estimated 100 homeless people 'living on the street' in
December 2009. When people are in emergency shelter they are less visible to
the broader community and efforts are needed to improve community
understanding of the need for more affordable housing and other
evidence-based solutions.

In the ATEH's Report Card on Ending Homelessness in Ottawa, Jan-Dec 2009,
Councillors will note that the average stay for families was 64 days in
2009, a 19% increase over 2008, and youth stayed on average 37 days. There
were 7,445 individuals who accessed emergency shelters in 2009; 85% of those
individuals were not chronically homeless1. We ask you to consider the
implications of a 12% increase in the average length of stay to 57 days
which led to a 9.6% increase in the use of emergency shelter beds. The full
report card accompanies this letter.

ATEH has set targets for ending homelessness within 10 years time. Our
targets are achievable; to reach them Ottawa will need 1,000 additional
affordable units a year. Every year for the next 10 years, we need to see
500 fewer people using emergency shelters. Longer stays in shelters and the
lack of affordable housing options are creating a bottleneck at both ends of
the system, costing us more and more every year. 

A City of Ottawa strategy that is comprehensive, inclusive, collaborative
and financially supported will go a long way in meeting targets to end
homelessness. A safe, stable and affordable home is the foundation of
Canadian life, a human right and a moral obligation of the state. Housing in
Ottawa requires committed and united leadership from our Mayor and
Councillors in partnership with the community in addition, of course, to
improvements in provincial and federal efforts.  

 

1  The City of Ottawa criteria for a chronically homeless individual is
someone who has spent more than 60 cumulative nights in the past year in an
emergency shelter and/or on the street and has reached the point where she
or he lacks the physical or mental health, the skills or income to access
and maintain housing.

 

 

Lynne Browne

Coordinator, Alliance to End Homelessness (ATEH)

147 Besserer St., 2nd Floor, Ottawa, ON K1N 6A7

Cell 613-513-6647

Office 613-241-7913, ext. 205

www.endhomelessnessottawa.ca <http://www.endhomelessnessottawa.ca/> 

 

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