Stay updated with breaking news from Winter Response. Get real-time updates on events, politics, business, and more. Visit us for reliable news and exclusive interviews.
As a drop-in for homeless women prepares to open in the Old East Village, Councillor Susan Stevenson said questions about the facility remain unanswered. “There was no information on the services that were going to be offered, the timelines, or how the $650,000 is going to be spent,” Stevenson said during Tuesday’s council meeting.
An hour-long question period failed to provide a trio of councillors many of the answers they were seeking.
One month after the Winter Response to Homelessness officially launched, expanded shelter spaces in place, but not always able to accommodate the number of Londoners seeking warmth.
City hall finally provided a rationale why specific city parks were selected to be on a list where homeless encampments are proactively removed.
Not permitted to set up tents in more than a dozen core area parks, some Londoners are choosing riskier locations on steep riverbanks and in wooded areas. The removal of encampments from city parks has become more compassionate following August’s hunger strike by The Forgotten 519 outside city hall, but encampments are restricted in a small number of parks.