Part of Health and Homelessness Whole of Community System Response
Community engagement meetings are being held this month to continue discussions with Londoners about how the Whole of Community System Response is addressing the city’s urgent health and homelessness crisis, and how a new community-led plan for pathways from encampments to housing will support this work.
A key component of the proposed plan is transformational outreach, in which case management is provided to individuals living with complex needs. This type of outreach works to help the highest acuity individuals access services and navigate the larger system within London, allowing them to move out of encampments and into shelters, hubs, or highly supportive housing.
These intentional interactions can include: problem-solving barriers to housing, securing identification, navigating income supports, mediating past conflicts with family/friends in the hopes of reunification, connecting people into city-wide programs and services effectively, and advocating within health and justice systems.
The community engagement meetings being held this month are an opportunity to learn more about the proposed plan and how it ties in with the other plans being implemented for hubs and highly supportive housing as part of the Whole of Community Response. Londoners are invited to ask questions, provide comments, and speak with representatives from the City of London and partner organizations.
Residents from across the city are invited to attend one of the in-person sessions taking place on May 21 and 23. Feedback is also being collected on the City’s Get Involved engagement website.
In-person engagement event details:
Tuesday, May 21, 6 – 7:30 p.m. – Earl Nichols Recreation Centre
Thursday, May 23, 6 – 7:30 p.m. – East Lions Community Centre
“This plan is a key piece needed to help us support our most vulnerable people currently living outdoors, and assist them towards a pathway to housing, with a goal of reducing and eventually eliminating the need for encampments.” – Kevin Dickins, Deputy City Manager, Social and Health Development
“The proposed plan for pathways from encampment to housing represents a fundamental shift in how we address homelessness in London, in that it is rooted in the principle that housing is a fundamental human right and a critical determinant of health. We hope Londoners will come learn about all the elements of this approach and tell us what matters to them as we move forward.”
– Greg Nash, Director, Complex Urban Health, London Intercommunity Health Centre
"We are making progress creating and opening highly supportive housing programs and hubs within the City of London. The rapport-building and support work starts before opening program doors, and it starts with intentional outreach, which this proposed plan outlines. Every intentional engagement is to eventially move people into housing.
– Chantelle McDonald, Director of Service, London Cares
“The scale of the challenge facing our community is large, but we have started along a path that works by beginning to implement hubs and highly supportive housing. Another key component of this solution is outreach workers who can connect individuals within encampments with tailored service pathways to support them moving into stable and safe indoor spaces, whether it is a shelter, a hub, or highly supportive housing."
– Mayor Josh Morgan, City of London
About the Health and Homelessness Whole of Community System Response
London, like many cities in Canada, is facing a health and homelessness crisis. In 2023 Londoners came together from organizations and sectors across the city and developed the Health & Homelessness Whole of Community System Response – a new way to support the most marginalized Londoners experiencing homelessness and reduce strain on our health care and judicial systems. The approach being implemented by the Whole of Community System Response is to help Londoners with the highest needs move safely inside; help them get stabilized, wrap around them with supports, connect them to the right type of housing, and help them stay housed.
City Council endorsed the Whole of Community System Response approach in March of 2023. Since then, two hubs have been established, as well as nearly 100 highly supportive housing units, with more units expected this year toward a goal of 600 highly supportive housing units within three years. The City’s plans for hubs and housing were shaped by previous community engagement sessions held in summer and fall of 2023.
For more information on the Whole of Community System Response, visit: london.ca