The city is hoping it can soon open up more shelter and supportive housing spaces to bolster the progress being made in clearing the number of homeless encampments in Windsor.
Windsor's Commissioner of Human and Health Services, Andrew Daher, says there are now four known homeless encampments with around 10 to 12 people.
As of Nov. 30, 2024, data collected through the 311 system and the homelessness outreach services provided by Family Services Windsor Essex showed there were 23 encampments in Windsor with approximately 46 people living in them.
Daher credits the progress on the work of staff along with an additional 73 warming spaces that were opened under the federal Reaching Home fund in December 2024, which included 35 at the city's Homelessness and Housing Help Hub (H4) in the former Water World.
He says having additional capacity in the entire system, whether it be permanent beds or temporary warming spaces, is making a difference.
"We've been seeing such a huge uptake and I can tell you the uptake on the H4, by expanding the hours, now we're open 24/7 and having the additional warming spaces, we've done such a phenomenal job at H4 and really opening up capacity," says Daher.
More help is also expected after the Ontario government announced $742,000 for Windsor in late January as part of a $75.5 million plan to help municipalities remove homeless encampments in public spaces by creating more emergency shelter spaces and affordable housing units.
Windsor's share will come from three funding streams to address homelessness and housing, which includes an application to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing to have $170,000 from the announcement used to open up 36 more shelter beds at the Salvation Army Centre of Hope, beds that would operate until March 31, 2025.
Daher says they are just waiting for final approval from the ministry on their application on whether they can open up additional shelter spaces.
"It is only one-time and it is only until March 31. This is so why it's incumbent on us and we've already had a number of conversations with the ministry to let them know this needs to be ongoing funding," he says.
The late January announcement from the province also included $114,121 from the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit (COHB) to help individuals and families secure affordable housing, bringing the total COHB funding to $890,421 in 2024-2025.
Windsor's Commissioner of Human and Health Services, Andrew Daher, says the additional $114,000 in Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit funding, a rent supplement program, will not just maintain housing.
"The COHB funding is actually going to help out 21 additional households to move into long-term shelter. This is good news, this is not just maintaining their housing, this is going to 21 additional housing moving into long-term affordable housing in our community," he says.
As for the remaining funding in the January announcement, some $400,000, that will come from the Last Mile Fund to support the completion of affordable and supportive housing projects in advanced construction stages.
The city submitted several applications for projects that could be supported by that funding but is still waiting from the province for word on which ones have been approved.