A new toolkit to help the Chatham community better understand homelessness response efforts.
Reach Out Chatham-Kent (R.O.C.K.) has officially launched their Homelessness Response Toolkits. These toolkits will provide information to businesses, BIA's, and community members who may be unaware of homelessness responses.
The goal is to provide guidance, reduce the stigma, and encourage informed interactions with individuals experiencing homelessness.
There will also be a Quick Reference postcard to provide information on who to call in specific situations. The postcard includes key phone numbers for outreach services, sharps clean-up, shelter, and other essential resources.
A Field Guide is also available which would be given to those experiencing homelessness. It provides information on available shelters, food resources, mental health supports, and more.
Haleigh Hill, Executive Lead at R.O.C.K., says there was a need for this toolkit as many community members had questions.
"It's an education piece just so that it can be in people's hands, and they can feel more confident in knowing something, and just having resources to be able to call somebody if they have questions."
She says Chatham is seeing the rise in homelessness.
"2019 there were 84 people experiencing homelessness in Chatham-Kent, and then this January 228, so that's a huge increase. There's so many people on the waitlist for affordable housing with an estimated wait time of 10 years. There's just so many people out there struggling, it's hard to see."
Hill says the aim is to provide more understanding.
"We hope that it just helps people learn something, maybe have some more empathy for the folks in our community that are experiencing homelessness because at the end of the day they're community members just like us. They're someone's mom, dad, sister, brother, friend."
The Homelessness Response Toolkit can be found by clicking here.
R.O.C.K. remains active in their outreach Chatham-Kent for those experiencing homelessness, insecure housing and people who use substances.
They serve 300 people in Chatham and 120 in Wallaceburg each week.