Cooler weather raises homeless issue for Belleville
By Trish Allison
While it seems far away, winter is quickly approaching and Belleville’s homeless will be in a flurry looking for shelter, local experts say.
Over the past 10 years Belleville has experienced an increase in homelessness across the board.
Reta Sheppard, housing coordinator at Hastings Housing Resource Centre, said that’s due to changing times.
“Things have changed. The economy has changed. And, people are losing jobs. Rent is going up and people can’t afford housing,” she said
And with changing times comes the change in weather.
Historically, Belleville’s temperature trends show that by the end of November the overnight low averages -4.4 Celsius, according to Sgt. Doug George from the CFB weather office.
“Then once you get into December, January or February are obviously the colder months, that’s where you’re going to hit your really cold,” he said.
Sheppard estimated Belleville streets are home to approximately 20 to 30 homeless people living on the street and said last year the housing centre saw a little over 1,500 hidden homeless, 96 per cent of which were homeless or at risk of being homeless.
The one thing Belleville needs, it lacks.
“It’s disgusting and sad that Belleville doesn’t have a permanent shelter because there are so many people who need it, what does that say about Belleville?” said Lindsay Craggs, a former youth councillor for the homeless who is now a student at Loyalist College.
“In layman’s terms, it basically says we don’t care about our homeless,” she said.
Homelessness can be defined in two ways: street homeless and hidden homeless. Both are a problem in Belleville.
Street homeless means living and eating on the street. Hidden homeless or couch surfing are people who are spending nights with family, friends, staying at hostels or motels due to inadequate financial funds. They are usually out of sight from the public and last on the priority totem pole.
Hastings Housing provides assistance locating, securing and maintaining immediate, temporary and permanent housing to people who are looking for help. And although they prove to be a helpful service, they aren’t a shelter and do not provide the same services as one.
About eight to 10 months ago a committee was formed to work toward bringing Belleville what it needs, but it comes at a cost.
“It takes a lot of money to build a shelter, and then to maintain it and to staff it,” said Sheppard.
In order for the committee to get funding, they’ll have to draw up proposals and find a way to access the money they need, leaving the arrival of a shelter up in the air, she said.
There are, however, services within the city that offer some relief to the homeless.
Transition homes provide a temporary (generally a six month stay) home for individuals or families, food and other necessities, and support in getting financial, medical or legal help. But many have very limited space, some as little as four beds. To the over 1,500 hidden homeless, it’s means a first-come-first-serve situation.
During the winter, the Red Cross runs a program where a van is parked in different locations in Belleville and Trenton. The van is space for people to get warm, have some hot soup and coffee, but then it’s back into the cold.
In the heart of winter, Belleville offers a program called Out of the Cold from January to March. The program provides overnight shelter to adults looking to stay warm during the long cold winter nights. Last year Out of the Cold saw 43 different individuals, averaging 6.41 visitors a night.
However, with the number of homeless increasing in the city Craggs feels something more needs to be done and soon.
“Something needs to be said to council; something needs to be said because there are so many people who are homeless and need a place to go.”
It could be a long and chilly wait.