"Should vacant school buildings be retro-fitted to offer interim relief during the homelessness epidemic?" June 29, 2023 Canadian News Update + Commentary
This is not simply a municipal issue, it’s a national epidemic and it’s cruelly unfair to suggest that it’s up to municipalities to solve this dilemma
The City’s Town Hall meeting on Tuesday evening about our homelessness crisis gave a lot of people a chance to vent their frustrations over tent encampments and lack of affordable housing. I’m sure it was informative to some, cathartic for others and generally frustrating for everyone because, at the end of the evening, we were no further ahead than when the whole process started.
That’s because this is not simply a municipal issue, it’s a national epidemic and it’s cruelly unfair to suggest that it’s up to municipalities to solve this dilemma, and just about everyone agrees with that.
But federal and provincial money will come slowly, if it comes at all, so, in the meantime, for better or worse, the City needs to develop their own plan.
We have a number of vacant school buildings right across the entire City that could be retro-fitted to offer interim relief, but the Boards of Education seem reluctant to be part of any solution.
That’s where the Province can help without writing a big cheque.
Since the Boards seem to forget that the people of Ontario paid for those buildings, the Province can intercede and offer those buildings, which already have water and heat and washroom facilities to temporarily shelter those vulnerable members of our community.
It’s not a long term solution, but it could save lives, so, what is the government waiting for?
Further Reading: CBC: Hamilton politicians ask province to help use — not destroy — vacant Sir John A. Macdonald school
Homeless Hub: Education for Young People Experiencing Homelessness and Housing Precarity