47% of people living in tent cities would move to new regionally managed site: survey

Less than half of people now living in homeless encampments in Kitchener and Cambridge, Ont.,would move to a different location, inanother city,if a hybrid outdoor/managed shelter was offered by the Region of Waterloo.

The survey,conducted on Oct. 4, was presented to regional council on Wednesday night. Council is currently working on ahousing plan for people experiencing homelessness and one optionincludes people moving toa managed hybrid shelter. The idea issimilar to the model created by Kitchener's A Better Tent City which has basichealth and safety rules and support for residents but also more autonomy than a traditional shelter.

"Both in Cambridge, on 150 Main, and those in Kitchener would move if the only option available to them was in a different city, '' said Peter Sweeney, commissioner of community services for the Region of Waterloo.

"What that tells us is that, we have some options we need to be considering in all of the community response to this work."

The region set out to speak with about 100 people living in two encampments in Kitchener and one in Cambridge;72 agreedto participate in the survey.

Results showed 40 per cent of people surveyed at the encampment in Cambridge would move to anothercity, while 28 per cent would not. In Kitchener, 43 per cent of respondents said they would move, 7per cent said they might and 25 per cent said they would not.

Regional staff visited the encampments at 150 Main St.in Cambridge, 100 Victoria St. in Kitchener and at Victoria Park in Kitchener and asked six questions, including about location, access to service and transit.

"I guess the real question is, if we build it, will they come?," said Sweeney.

"This is just one potential solution among many that we need to consider. It is one that is imperfect on many levels regardless of where this lands and how it's operated. There will be pros and cons to this work."

In August, regional council unanimously agreed on a motion that will change the way homelessness is addressed.

The interim housing plan will support those experiencing homelessness by expanding the region's transitional housing program, home-based support program and emergency shelter program.

The plan also includes permitting people who are experiencing homelessness to live in a managed hybrid shelter.