THUNDER BAY — More than 30 people are living in encampments across the city, according to Elevate NWO.
The agency's executive director, Holly Gauvin, said their numbers are based on one-to-one interactions with the individuals in the area.
"Whenever I talk about the numbers, I always talk about [how] these are the people that are known to us. There's always people out there who are not known to us. So those numbers are probably higher than we even estimate," says Gauvin.
Gauvin says they know of 33 individuals who are experiencing homelessness; compared to this time last year, there were only 11 known people living in encampments.
She noted this was predicted in the summer when the city reported a three-fold increase in the number of people living in encampments compared to last year when Elevate NWO served over 200 individuals through their outreach program this summer.
While the numbers are less than what Elevate NWO had previously reported (59 people as of the week of Nov. 20), Gauvin is frustrated at the barriers and lack of infrastructure for those needing different types of accommodations.
"One of the challenges that we've certainly seen this year is a number of people with pets and a number of couples out in the camps," Gauvin said; at last count, there were six couples they knew of within the encampments.
"For them to be able to access a shelter, they have to be separated from their pet or they have to be separated from their loved one, which poses a safety risk for many, but it's also a huge risk to mental health."
Gauvin said this isn't a slight against any of the shelters or the workers, but instead at a lack of infrastructure available.
"I have nothing but love in my heart for all of our shelters and for all those who work in the shelters. It is an issue that there's no infrastructure set up, that there's not enough resources set up in order to accommodate."
Touching on funding that was provided by the province for housing, Gauvin said there is money available to get people into hotels.
"Why not some hotels? The money is there," said Gauvin.
"We got a threefold increase from the provincial government around housing. We haven't yet floated any money for that, so there's clearly some money somewhere to accommodate people. Why are we not accommodating in the hotels?"
In an emailed response, the District of Thunder Bay Social Services Administration Board (TBDSSAB) confirmed that hotel spaces would be available if emergency shelter space was at capacity.
"The TBDSSAB count from Thursday, Dec. 14 is 22. For the winter, we have increased the emergency shelter capacity to ensure that those who need a space have a space available. If all emergency shelters are at capacity, anyone who attends an emergency shelter will be offered a hotel stay instead. People living unhoused who don’t want to be sleeping outdoors have options and there are programs in place to make sure they don’t have to."
The board also noted that an announcement regarding transitional housing spaces is expected in the new year, but the units wouldn't be available immediately.
