Latest / Kvetch & Release / Housing & Homelessness Help Hub new location axed; (another) new location sought

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Housing & Homelessness Help Hub new location axed; (another) new location sought · Kvetch & Release

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Welcome back to AM eight hundred CKLW. John Lydkey here
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: hosting Live and Local, the last one of twenty twenty four.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: And it was a long journey to get towards a
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: new home for the H four hub over at seven
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: hundred Wellington Avenue. But we found out recently that the
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: city is no longer pursuing that land acquisition due to
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: the cost associated with it, and it would be a
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: whole mess to go down the route of expropriation and
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: it would take years. And this is obviously an issue
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: on our streets where we're looking to have this. It's
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: not going to be solved overnight, but at least dealt
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: with in more of a meaningful way sooner than later.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: Joining me right now to discuss the scuttling of this location,
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  Speaker 1: what it might mean moving forward, the state of homelessness
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: and our downtown core and what to expect next year.
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: Is word three. Counselor who you hear often on AM
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: eight hundred CKLW. Ronaldo August You know, Hey, Ronaldo, how
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: you doing?
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: I'm good, John, Thanks for having me, how very.
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: Well, thanks for joining me here on this last episode
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  Speaker 1: of Live and Local. So just from your perspective, From
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: the city's perspective, what happened here? How did this all
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: fall apart?
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  Speaker 2: Well, there's not much I can say for the actual
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: logistics of what went down. Of course, this is a
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: lot of in camera stuff, but I think that the
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: appetite for counsel to continue on that site really when
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: you looked at the numbers and it just didn't make
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: sense anymore. And that's the issue that we're dealing with here,
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: is that as a municipality we deal with the brunt
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: of mental health, of homelessness, of addiction issues, but we
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: just don't have the money. And when you see the
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: road ahead with the changes happening provincially and federally, that
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: money doesn't look like it's coming. And there's only so
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: much we can put at the feet of the municipal
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: taxpayer before they look twice and say, well, wait a second,
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: this was you know, forty to sixty. Now some estimates
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: are bringing it closer to a ninety million dollar project. Wow,
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  Speaker 2: if you don't have the money right, then then what
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: are you doing right? And when you see the provinces
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: making changes, heading toward towards the hard hubs, which I
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  Speaker 2: think will make a significant positive difference in our community.
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  Speaker 2: But we have no idea where the federal government's going
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: over the next year or two. And with that being said,
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: without having the money in the bank besides what we
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  Speaker 2: put in so far, we can't make commitments not knowing
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  Speaker 2: whether it's going to work or not. So we've got
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: to shift our plans well.
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: And that's not saying that you know, there's nothing that's
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  Speaker 1: being done on this file. We found out earlier this
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: month that the city has announced in additional seventy three
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  Speaker 1: spaces that have been made available at the H four Hub,
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  Speaker 1: which is again located at four hundred Wy Dott Street East.
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  Speaker 1: But this is one of those problems, Ronaldo, when you
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: I mean you've dealt with this in private business and
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: in far more larger numbers now at the city level,
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  Speaker 1: but with inflation, and you put together a plan and
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: you say, hey, we we got to plan this all out.
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  Speaker 1: We're starting today, We're going to start construction at some
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: point in five years. But you know, costs continue to
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: go up year after year, and this has been a
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: wild couple of years when it comes to the construction
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: industry and supply chain and issues, the whole the whole
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  Speaker 1: thing's been just a little wild.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, when it comes to me in downtown and what
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  Speaker 2: I'm looking at and what I want to see change
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  Speaker 2: and the change that's currently happening in our society. You know,
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  Speaker 2: I think people are frustrated. People want to be empathetic,
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: but at the same time, people don't want to see
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: open drug use anymore. People don't want to have to
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  Speaker 2: step over needles and feces when they're taking their kids
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  Speaker 2: to school. I think that the years of empathy have
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  Speaker 2: now been replaced where we're going to tolerate a little
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  Speaker 2: less and I think it's you're going to see some
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  Speaker 2: tough love, which I'm totally for happening over the next
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  Speaker 2: few years because just the recent ruling in Hamilton that
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: that happened where you know, the judge was very different
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  Speaker 2: than the Water ruling, where the judge was saying, well,
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  Speaker 2: so you can't sit around all day, you can't set
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  Speaker 2: up an encampment, and you can't sit there and not
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  Speaker 2: be motivated to do anything positive to make changes in
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  Speaker 2: your life. Right, we can't let human beings sit around
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  Speaker 2: and rot intense and sit around in public spaces and
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  Speaker 2: using drugs and really making people afraid to go to
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  Speaker 2: go to our public spaces and some of our businesses.
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  Speaker 2: I think a lot of that is going to change
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  Speaker 2: over the next few years. So with that being said,
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  Speaker 2: what can we do as far as locations? And for me,
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  Speaker 2: I look at the Downtown Core and my entire focus
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  Speaker 2: has now shifted to finding a new home for the
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  Speaker 2: Downtown Mission, somewhere where the Downtown Mission can succeed with
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  Speaker 2: its people but not harm the neighbors around them. And
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  Speaker 2: that's what's been happening in the Core over the last decade.
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  Speaker 2: As the problems have escalated. The Mission is really handcuffed
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  Speaker 2: because of their facility, because of their location, and I
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  Speaker 2: think that's going to be my number one my number
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  Speaker 2: one job over the next couple of years is trying
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  Speaker 2: to find them a better location.
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  Speaker 1: You know, you bring up empathy, and I think that
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  Speaker 1: a lot of people still have empathy for people who
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  Speaker 1: are in need of help, for people who are on
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  Speaker 1: the street in need of shelter, for people who whether
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  Speaker 1: they're addicted to substances or use them often and it
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  Speaker 1: leads to detrimental circumstances. The empathy is still there, But
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  Speaker 1: I don't think the empathy came with a buy in
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  Speaker 1: of what it manifested into looking like on the streets.
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  Speaker 1: As you said, the open drug use, the feelings of
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  Speaker 1: being worried or concerned of your physical well being. I
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  Speaker 1: think too. In British Columbia there was a story about
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: how at a hospital there was a nurse who was told,
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: you can't breastfeed for the next two months because you've
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: been exposed to fentanyl because we allow people to smoke
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: inside the hospital.
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  Speaker 2: That isn't that's not empathy. That is a.
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  Speaker 1: Unfortunate evolution of a certain set of circumstances.
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  Speaker 2: But I don't know all some of the stuff you're
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  Speaker 2: seeing out there is stupidity, and you know, I'll call it.
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  Speaker 2: It is like when Justice Valente and the Water said that,
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  Speaker 2: you know, a shelter cannot be truly accessible unless you
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  Speaker 2: allow on site drug use.
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  Speaker 1: What we do, it's absurd.
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  Speaker 2: What are what are we doing that?
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  Speaker 1: You're spot on with that, because it's really the only
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  Speaker 1: way to put it. So what are we doing here?
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  Speaker 2: Then?
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  Speaker 1: Now, knowing that this is going to be delayed, We've
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  Speaker 1: got a provincial election that's coming up, in a federal
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  Speaker 1: election probably within the next six to eight months, is
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  Speaker 1: this thing scuttled in choosing a new location until after that,
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  Speaker 1: or are we going to try to get a new
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  Speaker 1: location and then wait for the funding to start to flow.
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  Speaker 2: So I think for Council for the city, I think
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  Speaker 2: there I already know that there are other ideas for
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  Speaker 2: certain locations, and I know that we're also looking beyond
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  Speaker 2: the two kilometer radius that was originally brought forward to us,
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  Speaker 2: because if you don't have the space within those two kilometers,
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  Speaker 2: then what do you do to you? You know, we
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  Speaker 2: tried the route of finding a space within the two kilometers.
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  Speaker 2: Not everybody was happy we tried. The appropriation didn't look
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  Speaker 2: like it was going to work out. The only thing
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  Speaker 2: you could do is either start looking for new spaces
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  Speaker 2: or start dealing with the immediate issues at hand. And
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  Speaker 2: while the city and council and our departments continue to
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: work tirelessly to support those in need, whether it's at
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  Speaker 2: age four or whether it's a Downtown mission or the
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  Speaker 2: women's shelter, everybody doing the heavy lifting as far as helping.
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  Speaker 2: I think my responsibility to the people of downtown Winsors
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  Speaker 2: really defined a new home for the Downtown Mission, and
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  Speaker 2: that's something I've already started on.
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: Yeah, well, we do know that the seven hundred well
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: into location did bring with it some concerns from residents
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  Speaker 1: and from ward to councilor Fabio Costante who brought a
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  Speaker 1: petition forward. So those residents are you know, probably gonna
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  Speaker 1: be happy that this isn't moving forward at that location.
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  Speaker 1: We'll find out at some point where a new location
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  Speaker 1: is going to be. Let's shift focus though to that
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  Speaker 1: Downtown Mission conversation, because I know that there have been
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  Speaker 1: a number of issues in the downtown core as a
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  Speaker 1: result of their new location there on o Lett Avenue
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  Speaker 1: that have seemed to be increasing in frequency, and I
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  Speaker 1: would love to get your perspective on that.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's you know, it's a low barrier shelter, and
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  Speaker 2: what that means is people who are suffering, for our
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  Speaker 2: hardest hit are used that facility. And it just happens
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  Speaker 2: to be smack dab at the entrance way, at the
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  Speaker 2: gateway to our downtown core. It happens to be around
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  Speaker 2: the corner from the beer store, right. It happens to
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  Speaker 2: be in a certain location where it doesn't help anybody.
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  Speaker 2: But it's not their fault. That's where they are and
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  Speaker 2: they're doing God's work trying to keep the lid on
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  Speaker 2: the boiling water which continues to overflow. So we got
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  Speaker 2: to move that pot because that location for what they're
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  Speaker 2: trying to do, there's just not suitable. And I tell
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  Speaker 2: people this all the time. It's like they're trying to
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  Speaker 2: play soccer on a hockey rink. It's not going to work, right.
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  Speaker 2: You're just sliding around everywhere, and you're trying to maintain
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  Speaker 2: something that you just can't maintain. And I'm there every
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  Speaker 2: day and I see the issues. I saw a street
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  Speaker 2: fight in the middle of all that avenue the other
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  Speaker 2: day as I was driving home. Because there are certain
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  Speaker 2: people and it's hard because, again, especially during the holidays,
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  Speaker 2: you try and have empathy, You try and have sympathy,
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  Speaker 2: you try and lead with your heart rather than with
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  Speaker 2: your hands. But then you see those that are out
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  Speaker 2: there that just don't want to follow the rules, that
• 9:57
  Speaker 2: want things the way that they want them, that could
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  Speaker 2: care less about the community around them or the people
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  Speaker 2: that are even trying to help them. Right, they're so
• 10:04
  Speaker 2: far gone that they need some severe therapy. And those
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  Speaker 2: are the ones that are causing the issues in the neighborhood, right,
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  Speaker 2: And so it's easy, and I see it all the time.
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  Speaker 2: People say, well, you can't use things like the notwithstanding class.
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  Speaker 2: You've got to give people somewhere to stay. You've got
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  Speaker 2: to let people camp out if they feel that the
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  Speaker 2: shelters that are there don't suit their needs. No, you can't,
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  Speaker 2: because what you're seeing on the streets is it's a
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  Speaker 2: breakdown of family values. It's a breakdown of family right
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  Speaker 2: where nobody's there pushing you to do better. And these encampments,
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  Speaker 2: not only do they not promote you to get up.
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  Speaker 2: You know, when you go to a shelter, for example, John,
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  Speaker 2: you go, you have a meal, but you're not allowed
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  Speaker 2: to sit around inside the shelter all day and do
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  Speaker 2: as you please. You've got to try and do something
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  Speaker 2: better for yourself. You've got to get up and move around.
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  Speaker 2: You can't just sit there. The people that don't want
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  Speaker 2: to do that will I end up most likely many
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: times in the encampments because they can't sit there all day.
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  Speaker 2: They can use narcotics all day, they can deal be
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: in the depths of their depression, right, they can be
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: in the depths of their trauma, and then their only
• 11:13
  Speaker 2: family around them are people that are suffering from the
• 11:15
  Speaker 2: exact same thing. Right, so they all become this group
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  Speaker 2: that is just that are happy to be where they are,
• 11:24
  Speaker 2: but it destroys everything around them and it doesn't help
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  Speaker 2: them get better. And hopefully with a new provincial government
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: or sorry, a new provincial election where this is going
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  Speaker 2: to be I believe one of the hot topics, and
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: a new federal government where I think there's going to
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: be a change. They're going to deal with some of
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: those systemic issues that us as a municipality have zero
• 11:48
  Speaker 2: control over. Right, I get it all the time, people
• 11:51
  Speaker 2: accounts or how come you're allowing this? How can you
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: allowing that? Listen, if this is not something I have
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: any control whatsoever, I'll try and deal with it for
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: you as best as I can. But I don't say
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: a no to anybody. But I can't. I don't have
• 12:04
  Speaker 2: the power to do it. Only the provincial government, only
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: the federal government. Those are the people that can change
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: the wos. Those are the people that have the budgets
• 12:11
  Speaker 2: and the money. Right, we can build anything you want
• 12:14
  Speaker 2: for the city of Windsor, but it'll come at an
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: expense of the taxpayer and everyone else. So when people
• 12:20
  Speaker 2: get angry at us for building nice things like a
• 12:22
  Speaker 2: hockey rank or something like that. It's like, well, why
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: aren't you building more shelters? Build We can't be a
• 12:28
  Speaker 2: city full of shelters that are on the time of
• 12:30
  Speaker 2: the taxpayer, because then nobody's gonna want to live here.
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: And if nobody lives here, how are you going to
• 12:35
  Speaker 2: collect taxes? Right, So it's a very complicated and interesting situation,
• 12:40
  Speaker 2: but I do believe that we're doing the best out
• 12:44
  Speaker 2: of many many cities in Ontario, especially the ones that
• 12:46
  Speaker 2: I keep tracked on. You know, we're lucky that we
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  Speaker 2: have a city in the council that still cares about
• 12:51
  Speaker 2: their downtown core. Other cities have gone to the wasteline
• 12:54
  Speaker 2: when it comes to their downtowns, and now it's starting
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: to affect their neighborhoods too. So we've got to stay strong.
• 12:59
  Speaker 2: We've got we're going to show some tough love so
• 13:02
  Speaker 2: that people that come after us can show some love.
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  Speaker 1: You know, Sympathy, empathy, and passion are all virtues that
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: we express and extol and embody. But it also isn't
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: doing anybody who is in need of help any good
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: to allow for the status quo to persist the way
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: that it does. We know that the status quo before
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: these changes came into effect didn't work. These changes came
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: into effect per making things permissive and permitted, and it's
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: not working now, and we're gonna have to find out
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  Speaker 1: something new to get to and maybe this heart model
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: is going to work, and maybe we'll get some federal
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: funding flowing down and that'd be great. But until then,
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: thank you so much for your time to chat about this,
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: and I know that you're keeping your eye on this one.
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: You're out there on the streets every single day. It's
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: incredible to see you. Thanks so much, Ronaldo, thank you.
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: And happy all today to all the listeners out there, Thank.
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: You, and happy New Year to you as well. Ward
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: three Counselor Ronaldo Agostino, you're listening to me, John Lidke
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: here on AM eight hundred KLW. We will be back
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: right after this