As Windsor's women-only shelter overflows, council punted a funding proposal to staff for a weeks-long review (original) (raw)
This Windsor women's shelter is overflowing — and council has sent a funding proposal back to staff
Dozens of people wrote or prepared delegations to talk about funding for a women's shelter that's hit capacity but were told to come back in a few weeks as council awaits more information from city staff. The CBC's Chris Ensing explains.
City council paused — and then pushed back — a planned debate on Monday about an emergency homeless shelter's request for more money.
In a six to five vote, council decided to ask staff to bring back a second report with more information about a funding request from the Welcome Centre Shelter for Women and Families (WCS).
That means the issue may not return to council until late July as the shelter warns it's having to turn women away who then sleep in their cars.
"The fact that we didn't want to have the debate —have the discussion, listen to delegates — to me was extremely disappointing," said Coun. Kieran McKenzie.
He brought forward a funding proposal to council asking to spend 192,000froma192,000 from a 192,000froma5.2-million budget stabilization reserve to add 12 permanent beds to the shelter.
McKenzie also asked staff to bring forward a permanent funding plan as part of the 2027 operational budget.
"The community as a whole today was deprived of the opportunity to hear really important information about what's happening to a crucial service in our community," said McKenzie.
Coun. Kieran McKenzie takes questions from reporters in city hall. (Chris Ensing/CBC)
City staff submitted a four page report warning against this funding method because of other rising costs related to fuel increases, Transit Windsor and the Windsor fire department.
They wrote that there is capacity in the system if people turned away choose to use beds reserved for women at the Downtown Mission.
"If there's a turn away, if the Welcome shelter happens to be full, it doesn't mean there's not space for women at other shelters," Dilkens said following Monday's meeting.
Couns. Mark McKenzie, Jim Morrison, Gary Kaschak, Ed Sleiman and Mayor Drew Dilkens supported Coun. Jo-Anne Gignac's motion to refer the request to staff for more information.
That decision left advocates accusing council of failing to lead the city through a difficult conversation.
"You can't say, 'oh, we're gonna pass a motion and say that intimate partner violence is an epidemic and we need to deal with it,' and then have an important motion like this today and have it deferred for further report," said Marion Overholt, the former executive director of Legal Assistance Windsor.
She was one of more than a dozen advocates slated to speak on Monday.
"It's terribly disappointing. I expected leadership from council."
How did this get to council?
Windsor spends about 25millionannuallyonhomelesspreventionservices,with25 million annually on homeless prevention services, with 25millionannuallyonhomelesspreventionservices,with16 million coming from the province, 4millionfromthefederalgovernment,4 million from the federal government, 4millionfromthefederalgovernment,3 million from the city and about $850,000 from the county.
A conversation about how that money is spent and if it's enough has been playing out, after the Welcome Centre first told CBC News last month that a request for more money had been denied.
It first warned the city about a $160,000 budget shortfall during budget deliberations last year, according to Mayor Drew Dilkens.
The city did not increase funding to match the deficit, according to Dilkens.
City councillor Jo-Anne Gignac initiated the move to defer the funding proposal until staff could return with a more fulsome report. (Chris Ensing/CBC)
Lady Laforet, the shelter's executive director, said the money is needed to maintain eight beds the city asked it to open during the winter.
"What we're looking for is not an act of charity, we're not looking for frills," Laforet said.
The $192,000 requested would make those beds permanent and add an additional four beds for women who are being turned away because the shelter is full.
Following a May 25 council meeting, Dilkens called Laforet's public comments a "drive-by smear" during an election year and suggested the shelter fundraise the money.
Dilkens has not said if he will seek re-election in the fall.
McKenzie told council he would bring forward a funding proposal two weeks ago, which was presented as part of the full council agenda Friday alongside the four-page staff report.
"I have not heard that women and children were being left on the street, sleeping on the street in terms of being able to secure a safe space," said Gignac.
"My request to refer back to administration is to get the full picture."
What is the demand for women's shelter spaces?
It's difficult to get a clear picture of how many women are being turned away from the shelter system or how many beds are available for women.
There's 57 beds for women in Windsor: 25 at the Downtown Mission and 32 at the Welcome Centre Shelter.
CBC News asked the Downtown Mission, the Welcome Centre Shelter and the City of Windsor for occupancy numbers and none of them matched.
Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens has said there is no reason for people to sleep outside in the city because there's always room at shelters. (Chris Ensing/CBC)
Laforet said that her shelter turned away 26 unique women seeking emergency shelter between Friday and Monday.
City staff say they're data collection shows nine unique women were turned away and that there six beds available for women Sunday night at the Downtown Mission.
The Downtown Mission said they had five beds.
"We are working both internally and with service providers to have everyone use HIFIS [the Homeless Individuals and Families Information System] as the one true source for homelessness data," said Dana Paladino, the city's commissioner of human and health services.
The HIFIS is a data collection and case management system for homelessness service providers developed by the federal government.
The staff report to council states that there have been no women-reserved beds available 25 nights between November and April.
Where do women turn to when the women-only shelter is full?
When that happens, women can turn to the crash pad sites at the Homelessness and Housing Help Hub (H4) or Downtown Mission.
They could also be set-up with a motel through the city in emergency situations, according to Paladino, but that hasn't been done in over a year.
Laforet says the women she's had to turn away at the Welcome Centre Shelter told her they don't feel safe going to the Downtown Mission or H4.
"What we've heard from women is that they sleep in their cars, they will continue to couch surf, they'll stay in unsafe situations and then they call us every day," said Laforet.
Delegates will be able to speak to this funding proposal when it returns to council which staff say could be July. (Chris Ensing/CBC News)
Dilkens, who said during Monday's meeting that no women are sleeping outside in Windsor, said that there's security and police at shelter spaces to ensure people are safe.
Multiple councillors raised concerns about other shelters asking for more taxpayer dollars if this increase is approved. Dilkens said that's why council needs to approach funding as a system-wide approach.
"We have to responsibly look at this and invest in our system by looking at it as a whole and not particular one shelter after another," he said.
"If we get into funding because of customer preference, one shelter over the other, boy, we're going to have to totally change the system that we operate."
City staff expect to have their report back to council before or on council's July 27 meeting.