Campaign for homeless could be extended

By Chris Jones/The Oshawa Express

Oshawa is looking to press forward with its Welcoming Streets for the homeless campaign despite concerns from some councillors.

At the most recent development services committee meeting, members recommended to council that the Welcoming Streets initiative continue in 2021, despite trepidation from Councillor Rosemary McConkey.

McConkey expressed her belief that the report given to the committee, which contained positive reviews of Welcoming Streets from downtown business owners, was one-sided and didn’t tell the whole story.

“I have talked to businesses in the downtown, and I have not heard an endorsement,” she says.

She says when the Welcoming Streets campaign was extended last time, it was before the COVID-19 pandemic had hit, and circumstances have changed since then.

“We did not realize how weak our downtown… engagement is with the unsheltered,” she says.

She also pointed to comparisons to Welcoming Streets’ city of origin, Guelph, are not accurate, as Oshawa and Guelph are very different.

She notes when Mayor Dan Carter brought the Welcoming Streets campaign to council, it was a very positive move because of how well it was going in Guelph.

“Oshawa is very different from Guelph,” she says.

She also says businesses downtown she’s spoken to feel no connection to the event, reinforcing her belief the report is one-sided, and a new approach is needed.

“It’s time to reinvent it. It’s not working,” she says.

Councillor Jane Hurst agreed, saying McConkey took the words right out of her mouth, and the report is looking at Welcoming Streets through “rose-coloured glasses.”

However, Councillor Bob Chapman disagreed, passionately arguing in favour of the program.

Chapman notes many people are misinformed about what the homeless population consists of, noting most people believe it is entirely made up of drug addicts and the mentally ill.

He notes many of those who use the services at Cornerstone, an organization which helps the homeless downtown, aren’t there during the day, as they are working but are unable to afford a place to live.

“A lot of people don’t know that,” he says. “The people that you’re talking about that are causing problems are actually a small few.”

He notes the problem with homelessness has escalated since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and at this point in time the problem won’t be solved until after the pandemic is over.

Ultimately, he doesn’t want the committee to stand in the way of helping people when it isn’t going to cost the city anything, as he notes the program will be paid for by the region going forward.

“We are a caring community, and we always have been,” he says.

If council ultimately approves extending Welcoming Streets into 2021, Carea Community Health Centre will put in an application to the Durham Advisory Committee on Homelessness (DACH) for funding to help with the creation of a community based safety space for the unsheltered, otherwise known as a “Chill Zone.”

The Chill Zone will provide the unsheltered population an alternative spot to congregate that isn’t on the streets.

It will offer a number of programs to the homeless, including support groups, cultural programming, employment skills workshops, identification clinics, and more.

Carea has informed the city the creation of such a space is outside of the scope of Welcoming Streets, but it will include it in its funding application to DACH.
The organization has requested the city support the application, seeing as the majority of issues related to the unsheltered occur in Oshawa.