Twitter thread broke! Starting again here. Missed a question by a senior staffer about the complicated nature of this issue.
Another senior staffer: There are currently no resources available for one time funding. There are no resources available for these one time emergency asks. **paraphrasing
Medora answers question from @BCouncillor about how many women are turned away from shelters and how many shelters there are in the city. There are five shelters and they always at capacity. There are still limitations to shelter structures which mean some women can’t access them
@BCouncillor confirms CA Place has not received municipal funding since it began in 2016. Medora confirms this.
@BCouncillor confirms that we actually can’t collect data because of provincial laws in place that do not require clients to disclose information about themselves. Medora confirms.
Denise offers that gender was not on the table regarding LHN restructuring. Says gender needs to be part of the health conversations regarding funding and issues of homelessness. @YWCA_Hamilton
@BCouncillor asks when this funding is needed. @medorauppal says funding is needed for everyone to be ready for set up in December.
@DeniseChrisYW We are a long way from providing everyone who needs a home with a safe home...we can’t build fast enough. @YWCA_Hamilton
Medora clarifies for Esther Pauls that CAP is only open for the winter months as a response to the cold weather.
@DeniseChrisYW We are creative when it comes to this work....women’s homelessness is often hidden...how are we going to address to growing needs in our community?
Sheryl Bolton, Director of Community Services at Mission Services speaks about Willow’s Place.
WP provides women with a safe and warm space to sleep, do laundry, share meals, and access other services.
Women are taking residence in uninhabitable places including shipping containers, alleys and engaging in sex work to find a place to sleep.
The women of WP experience sexual violence. They struggle with mental health and addictions but with concerns of significant physical health. We have encountered five women experiencing homelessness and cancer this year. They are often unable to access healthcare.
This results in desperation and physical and mental exhaustion. WP sees 30 new women each month. Last month we saw 40 new women access our space. We have extended our hours as much as we can within our own budgets.
With additional funding from the city, extended hours will mean these women will have an escape from the elements where women can have their basics needs of food, shelter, and safety.
Whitehead asks if WP collects data. Sheryl says that we do as much as we can. Women are asked if they have accessed WP before as a way of measuring new women accessing.
Whitehead asks how this data is verified if the women are not of the right state of mind.
Sheryl says names of women are collected, written down. The intimate relationships between the women and WP staff aid in this.
Whitehead asks about WP funding. Sheryl clarifies we receive no funding from the city. It is 100% donor funded combined with some smaller funds.
Lisa Massy (sp?) Hamilton Social Medicine Response team now speaking. Says they see patients everyday working harder than most just to survive.
Lisa speaks to the warmth and resilience of the women she works with. Emphasizes the importance of CarolAnne’s Place and Willows Place in keeping women alive.
Lisa Nussey (correct spelling now!) says these spaces help care providers stay in touch with patients that may otherwise be unreachable.
Lisa Nussey emphasizes that people do want to be housed, but it is unavailable and/or inadequate for their needs.
@NrinderWard3 highlights the time sensitivity involved in putting a motion forward.
Staff says if committee is supportive of this direction there are possibilities, but there is no direct pool to pull any funding from.
Staff says if committee is supportive of this direction there are possibilities, but there is no direct pool to pull any funding from.
Tom Jackson speaking to reliance on city funding by Hamilton agencies. Would like to have a report in December. Feels frustrated by the city being relied on by orgs who lose their original funding. Would rather have longer term solution.
@BCouncillor speaking now. Says homeless people are people and that violence is a huge issue for homeless women. Highlights addiction and mental health as other major issues which affect services for homelessness.
@BCouncillor says we need support from the province to address the need for supportive mental health housing. Says there is an issue of trust. Frustrated that the LHN is gone and the ON health teams aren’t running.
@BCouncillor Suggests compromise that city provides monthly funding while the city pitches to the provincial super agency and asks them to provide funding. Says this adds pressure to province to step up while keeping CAP and WP doors open.
@terrywhitehead does not agree with this idea. Prefers one time funding and says this gives window to have conversation about who should take on these responsibilities. Not on for taking funding from other places in the city’s human services.
@Chad_Collins5 now speaking. He also visited WP last year. Knows women’s shelters are at 110%. Supportive of the direction to assist, possibly through poverty reduction fund. Asks how we deal with this annual issue?
Sam Merulla says no one wants to say no to this. Many agencies being impacted by increasing budget limits; suggests this one time funding request will not be one time until there is a permanent solution.
One of the staff shares the human impacts of increased costs and decreased funding across areas including homelessness and housing. Says housing wait list is 6800 households; 5500 of those are families waiting to move into housing.
Ongoing conversation between committee and staff about how to build a sustainable way to address these kinds of funding requests from social service agencies in need—like Carol Anne’s Place and Willow’s Place.
@NrinderWard3 expressses concern for month to month model on operational impacts of CAP and WP on the population we serve.
After other conversation between councillors, @NrinderWard3 puts forward a motion which would result in CAP and WP receiving $228k in one time funding from the poverty reduction fund while a longer term solution is sought.
Motion passed.
We will follow up with more clarification in the near future. We encourage you to review the available official recording/minutes from this committee meeting and apologize in advance for any errors in our livetweets!
Thank you to @YWCA_Hamilton @HAMSMArTeam and councillors for your passion and work to providing emergency housing to women this winter.
