LETTER: Correcting misinformation from Ward 2 councillors

GuelphToday received the following Letter to the Editor from reader Lauren Hord, who said she first reached out to the councillors involved:

I think my reply below to Ward 2 city councillors (Carly) Klassen and (Rodrigo) Goller following their August 2024 community newsletter is important information to share more widely, in anticipation of the August 28 public use bylaw council meeting.

"Hello Carly and Rodrigo,

Thank you for reaching out to your constituency to bring awareness to this upcoming Council vote, and for soliciting our opinions and expertise around the proposed Public Space Use By-Law. As a mental health outreach worker in the downtown core, I am acutely aware that there is a lot of nuance to be considered in this proposal, and that there is almost certainly no solution that will satisfy every stakeholder or voter.

Personally, I can see both pros and cons to most recommendations proposed in the by-law, and look forward to gathering more information and perspectives from delegates speaking on August 28 – and I also hope that you consider this new information in deciding your vote. To be clear, I do not believe that municipal regulations prohibiting tents in certain areas and circumstances are intrinsically discriminatory or at odds with a person-centred approach to supporting our unhoused neighbours. However, I do think that in-depth knowledge of and engagement with the community in question is needed to ensure a human rights-based approach is applied effectively, as City Council aims to do.

Unfortunately, I am concerned that your decision to support this by-law is based, at least partially, on inaccurate and incomplete information, and that by disseminating this information broadly you are exacerbating the stigma and anger felt towards some of our most vulnerable neighbours. I hope this letter can be an opportunity for you to adjust accordingly, as you have both spoken passionately of the need to support our unhoused residents and build a more inclusive community for all of us in Guelph.

To start, I am confused by your assertion that “there is capacity in our shelter system to accommodate everyone who is unhoused…”. I’m concerned that you are basing decision making on this factual inaccuracy, and query where you are gathering your information. A cursory review of current, publicly available data provided by the County of Wellington and local emergency shelters indicates that the number of unhoused individuals is significantly greater than the number of shelter beds available (as of July 2024 there were 27 less shelter beds than people reported homeless). You also highlight that approximately 10 new individuals are becoming homeless in the region every month. Are you intimating that the system can or will be adding 10 new shelter beds every month to accommodate these people (as would need to happen if our system had capacity to shelter everyone in need)?

Additionally, your statement that “…some prefer to stay in encampments instead of using the emergency shelter system” perpetuates the largely incorrect belief that people sleeping outside have other viable options, and made an active choice to sleep rough. Please consider the following:

-Not all people are welcome to stay at Guelph emergency shelters all the time. Service restrictions, lasting from days to months, are sometimes placed on individuals who are found in violation of shelter rules. These individuals do not have another shelter option.

-Assault and rape survivors who are unhoused sometimes have to choose between staying at the shelter along with their assailant, or sleeping outside.

-Individuals who have no contact orders with another person accessing the shelter cannot stay at the shelter without breaching their probation/parole conditions, and therefore risk returning to jail.

-People may experience ethical conflict between their faith traditions/expectations and the environment in shelter.

-Some people in substance use recovery will not stay at the shelter as the overt substance use present is unavoidable and poses a risk to their sobriety.

-Some severe psychiatric symptoms prevent people from being able to stay at the shelter. As this is my area of expertise, please feel free to reach out if you would like more information on the intersection of mental health and homelessness.

-Shelter capacity is sometimes reached (especially in the winter months).

In short: not everyone staying outside made the choice to, and most people staying outside did not have a safe or realistic alternative to choose. This is important to consider when deciding whether to support a by-law that will affect these individuals, especially as council decided that there was not the time nor resources to engage directly with the community in drafting this by-law . I hope that in your communications and conversations with folks going forward you will avoid using any language suggesting that some of those in encampments are choosing their circumstance, without including the fact that there are usually no other realistic or humane options.

Sharing this misinformation and omitting necessary context in a communication to your constituents not only minimizes the severity of need in our community, but rhetorically erases the experiences of our unhoused neighbours and adds to the stigma we are currently seeing directed toward this population. It also deprives your constituents of vital information they need to make informed voting choices, and tells your frontline constituents who support this population that their work is not valued or recognized. I look forward to your email correcting these errors. I’ll also provide links at the bottom of this letter to the sites where I gathered my information, if you would like to include them so that those with any confusion after your original email have the resources to educate themselves. Of course the numbers will fluctuate over time, but as you said, the trend is towards a significant increase in homelessness going forward.

While I appreciate that you are both attempting to address this issue head on, as your constituent I respectfully ask that you base your council votes on full and accurate information and avoid language that further marginalizes these neighbours and those who care very much that every community member has a warm place in the cold AND lives with the knowledge that that is not currently the case. I really worry that people in Ward 2 will read your email and surmise that most people living in tents are doing so despite safe and accessible alternatives. I ask that you educate yourselves more thoroughly, and equally as important, ensure your constituents receive accurate information from you. I also invite you to come downtown regularly and speak to some outreach workers and those directly impacted by homelessness, as it is apparent to most anyone involved in this community that our shelter system, despite the efforts of all those involved, is insufficient to meet the homelessness crisis in Guelph.

Very sincerely,

Lauren Hord

Homelessness Prevention Initiatives | Housing | Social Services (wellington.ca)

-210 people reported unhoused as of July 2024

Shelter Support | Stepping Stone (steppingstonegw.com)

-35 beds at 23 Gordon

Stepping Stone to reopen 38 emergency shelter spaces - Guelph Today News (September 2023)

-38 beds at Waterloo and Highway 6.

County signs deal to accommodate homeless residents at Norfolk Manor - Guelph Today News (June 2024)

-68 beds at 127 Norfolk

Marianne’s Place - Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis (gwwomenincrisis.org)

-28 beds at 38 Elizabeth

Youth Emergency Shelter – Wyndham House https://www.wyndhamhouse.org

-14 beds at 18 Norwich

Total shelter beds: 183"

AUGUST 2024 Ward 2 newsletter, emailed August 16:

On Wednesday, August 28, Guelph City Council will meet to consider a Public Space Use Bylaw. In this update, we're providing a brief background and an invitation for you to (a) tell us what you think about the proposed Public Space Use Bylaw and (b) an ask for you to consider delegating to Council about this issue on the 28th.

You're likely aware of the increased number of encampments in Guelph, particularly in our downtown core, and in over a dozen other locations throughout the city. What you may not be aware of is that this year, we are seeing on average 25 new people becoming homeless every month, and Wellington County, our consolidated social services manager, is only able to find housing for about 15 people per month. This means that by the end of this year, we are expected to have over 250 people on the By-Name-List of individuals experiencing homelessness in Guelph and Wellington County, with about 90% of those individuals accessing services and living in in Guelph.

While there is capacity in our shelter system to accommodate everyone who is unhoused, some prefer to stay in encampments instead of using the emergency shelter system. We have also learned that some people using the shelter system also keep a tent in public space to store their belongings, and to have a place where they can visit friends and spend the day. The challenge comes when there are conflicts between people living in encampments and with other people using those public spaces, including threatening behaviour and an accumulation of garbage in public spaces.

The City, along with Wellington County and our local social service and healthcare providers are working on long-term solutions, including exploring City owned land to be used for new social and affordable housing. We are also improving the coordination and delivery of health and in particular, mental health supports for our unhoused community members, and to provide greater supports for those at risk of homelessness. However, these solutions - in particular the building of new affordable and social housing - will take time.

In the meantime, we need a plan for managing the encampments in our community, and to address the private use of public spaces. This is where the Public Space Bylaw comes in.

The bylaw provides guidelines so people can safely set-up tents, while respecting park use and public spaces. It's about setting some ground rules to keep everyone safe. It prohibits encampments from being setup at St. George's Square and along the rivers, but it is permissive, so encampments would still be allowed in most public spaces. The goal of this bylaw is not to criminalize poverty by banning encampments altogether. Rather, it takes a human rights based approach and creates guidelines so we can have a safe use of our shared public spaces. It will also facilitate the delivery of essential services to unhoused community members sleeping in encampments.

Here are the highlights:

Where permitted by the bylaw, tents may be setup:
- (a) in groups of up to five tents,
- (b) each group of tents must be at least 10 metres apart,
- (c) tents must be at least 10 metres away from schools or childcare centres.
Encampments cannot be setup within the following distances:
- (a) 10 metres of playgrounds, waterparks, splash pads, or wading pools;
- (b) 10 metres of any other area prescribed by the City as a Sensitive Public Area (like our downtown square),
- (c) 10 metres of a lake, river, pond or other watercourse,
- (d) 30 metres of any railway or railroad infrastructure, and
- (e) 10 metres of any other area prescribed by the City as a Designated Area (which includes our aquifer recharge areas).

Why Your Voice Matters

On August 28th, City Council decides on this bylaw. We would love to hear from you. While we work on the medium and longer-term solutions to address this housing and homelessness crisis, we need to set clear guidelines for everyone in our community to share our public spaces.

Do you think this Public Space Use Bylaw is the right approach? Should we prioritize specific locations that will not allow encampments? Do you have any other thoughts, concerns or questions about the draft Public Space Use Bylaw?

Share Your Thoughts!

There are two ways you can have your say:

Speak at the Council meeting: Register before next Friday, August 23rd at 10am, by sending an email to [email protected] - you can learn more about delegating here: guelph.ca/delegate
Send a message to City Council: Let us know what you think in writing. If you would like your comments to be part of the public record and included on the August 28th meeting agenda, send your written comments to [email protected] before next Friday, August 23rd at 10am. If you would prefer to contact Council directly and not be included in the meeting agenda, you can just send your comments to [email protected]

Depending on what Council hears from delegates, we may or may not enact the bylaw. As your Ward 2 City Councillors, we have heard from dozens of concerned community members who are asking the City of Guelph to better manage encampments in our community. We support of this bylaw as an interim measure, while we keep on working on the medium and long-term actions to address this housing crisis. We want to hear from you, so we can make a better, more informed decision on the 28th.

Additional Resources:

Thank you for taking the time to consider this sensitive issue. We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Rodrigo & Carly